


Every Move You Make

by Jaiclaire



Category: Highlander: The Series
Genre: Gen, Mary Sue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-09
Updated: 2013-02-09
Packaged: 2017-11-28 16:44:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/676625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaiclaire/pseuds/Jaiclaire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Connor sends Mac a "gift." Blatant Mary Sue; I know this. Richie LIVES! Ahriman, who? Archangel, what? (written and posted on a dare)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Move You Make

Every Move You Make

 

* indicate emphasis, <> surround something that is not spoken aloud.

 

             EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE

 

Richie Ryan was working out with his sword, when he felt a buzzing

sensation in the back of his skull signaling the approach of another

Immortal. Keeping his sword at the ready, he turned toward the dojo's

entrance, and waited for the person to walk in. He knew it wasn't

MacLeod since Mac was upstairs in the loft fixing dinner. A woman, girl

really, walked into the dojo, and froze upon seeing Richie and his

sword.

 

"I'm looking for Duncan MacLeod," her voice was low, Richie figured Joe

would call it a 'whiskey' voice.

 "If you're here for Mac, you'll have to go through me first," Richie

challenged.

 

The slight figure let her duffel bag slide to the hard wood floor, and

reached up to remove the baseball cap from her head. Long, pale blonde

hair cascaded to just above her knees, the colour matched her eyebrows

which were raised in question over silver-grey almond-shaped eyes.

 

"I'm not looking for any trouble, I'm just doing a favour for someone.

But if you want to fight, I will." She didn't look scared, just

resigned. She pulled a black-hilted katana from her coat, and moved to

face him.

 

The elevator made a grinding noise as it descended. Both Richie and

the stranger felt the 'buzz' of another Immortal. She backed up and

raised her sword, wariness evident on her pale face.

 

"Well," Richie stated, "it looks like you'll be finding Mac right now."

 

Duncan stepped out of the elevator, katana in hand, and surveyed the

scene before him. Richie in sweats and barefoot, sword slightly raised,

and a girl, looking to be about 17, just barely taller than the katana

she held.

 

"So," he began nonchalantly, "what the hell's going on?"

 

"She says she's---"

 

"Duncan MacLeod?" the girl interrupted Richie, stepping forward.

 

Duncan's expression went from slight amusement to seriousness, "I am

Duncan MacLeod, of the Clan MacLeod, and you are?"

 

She smiled a little. "Could you possibly make that sound just a

*little* more threatening?"

 

"I could try, should I?"

 

"No, sorry," she seemed nervous now, "it's just that you say that the

same way Conner does."

 

Duncan was taken aback at the mention of his clansman.

 

"You know Conner MacLeod?"

 

"Of the Clan MacLeod, yeah, I know him. He's the reason I'm here. You

see, I was coming out this way, and he gave me something to give to

you. Umm," she looked briefly toward her bag and back to Duncan, "it's

in my bag. Neither of you guys are gonna come at me while I grab it,

are ya?"

 

"Of course not!" Duncan was obviously insulted at the very idea.

 

Richie rolled his eyes, "Don't be stupid."

 

"It's not stupid. You'd be surprised how many wait until your back is

turned to make their move." Her tone spoke of experience.

 

"Other Immortals?" Richie asked.

 

"Other Immortals, men, whatever." Again, her tone spoke of experience.

 

Richie gestured to the bag by the door, "Well, we're not like that, so

go ahead."

 

She didn't look really convinced, but backed up toward the bag, keeping

her sword pointed between them and the floor, her eyes darting to

both of them. When she reached the bag, she squatted, resting the

katana near her feet, and unzipped the bag. She rummaged around,

finally pulling a legal-size manila envelope out. She picked up her

sword and walked back to where Richie and Duncan stood.

 

"Here," she held the packet out to Duncan.

 

He took it, noticing she was careful not to touch his hand in the

exchange.

Duncan looked at the envelope, his name was scrawled in Conner's hand

across the center.

 

"Well," he said, "why don't you come up for coffee, while I take a look

at this?"

 

"Umm, no, umm, no thank you," the girl stammered, looking anywhere but

at Duncan, "I've got things to do."

 

"Can't they wait for a few minutes? You came all this way from New

York, you should at least have some coffee." Duncan smiled his most

charming smile. "We don't even know your name."

 

She grimaced at his smile, "It's Taliesyn, Taliesyn Marks. And you

don't owe me anything."

 

"Taliesyn, like the bard?"

 

"Yeah, it's a really pretentious name, but, well, umm, anyway, I gotta

go," she began backing away.

 

"Wait!" Richie, sensing his mentor's desire for the girl to stay,

decided to try another tactic. "If you just got into town, you'll need

a place to stay, so you could use Mac's phone to call around to hotels.

Plus, we can tell you about any other Immortals in town, that way if

you run into them, you'll know if their friend or foe, if you know what

I mean."

 

She looked up into Richie's blue eyes, and her own silver eyes seemed

to soften, her voice was softer, too, "Oh, okay, coffee and the phone,

but I don't need any info on others. I try to stay out of the way of

the assholes, and I'm not interested in making friends."

 

Richie frowned at that, "Everybody needs friends."

 

"Why?" was the soft reply.

 

Duncan, seeing that this conversation was not going anywhere, began

moving toward the elevator.

 

"Come on up, Taliesyn. Richie, you can shower up there if you like."

 

"Cool, your shower has better hot water than the ones down here."

 

Duncan laughed as the elevator began its ascent.

Taliesyn moved to the farthest corner of the elevator, away from the

two men. Richie noticed, but said nothing.

 

*******************************************

 

While Duncan made coffee, Taliesyn wandered about the loft, looking at

the different antiques, she didn't touch anything, nor did she remove

her black trench coat.

Just as the coffee finished brewing, Richie came out of the bathroom

wearing faded jeans and a t-shirt, toweling his hair.

 

Duncan handed Richie a cup of coffee, "Taliesyn, how do you take your

coffee?"

 

"Oh, black is fine." she sat down on the sofa and took the offered cup.

 

Duncan eyed her coat, "You can take your coat off, you're not going to

be challenged here. I promise."

 

Taliesyn put the cup on the coffee table and stood. She looked from

Duncan to Richie and back to Duncan.

 

"Okay. You guys probably think I'm silly, but I'm still alive and

that's all that matters." She tossed her long hair, and let her

trenchcoat slide off her shoulders. Underneath she wore black leggings

that came just above her hips and a cropped black turtleneck, her

stomach was left bare, showing a belly button piercing. A silver

pentacle on a silver chain around her neck and thigh-high, black

leather boots with moccasin heels completed the outfit.

 

"Did you get that before you became Immortal?" Richie asked, indicating

the belly button ring.

 

"Most of my other piercings I got after I died the first time. The

belly, I got that one before."

 

"I'm surprised they didn't try to heal." This from Duncan.

 

"Yeah, I was worried about that, too, but they just healed around the

ring. Same with tattoos, they just take longer because the skin keeps

healing, but they stay once their finished."

 

"You have other piercings?" Duncan was obviously curious now.

 

"Umm, yeah, I have my four in each ear," she lifted her hair, showing

four tiny silver hoops in each ear, " two in my tongue, "she briefly

stuck out her tongue to show the two silver barbells halfway up one

next to the other horizontally, "I have a couple other body piercings,

but, I'm not showing you those."

 

On that note, she sat back down on the sofa and picked up her coffee,

taking a large swallow.

 

"Why did you get your tongue pierced?" Duncan asked politely.

 

"Mostly because I was curious about how much it would hurt, but also,

because it's a big plus with giving head." She stated, daring him to

comment.

 

He didn't.

 

Richie, who had wisely kept his mouth shut the whole time, decided to

change the subject, "So, Mac, what'd Conner send you?"

 

"Oh, that, I haven't looked yet, let's see." Duncan took the envelope

off the coffee table and broke the seal. From the envelope, he pulled a

stack of pictures and a folded piece of paper. He shuffled though the

pictures and handed them to Richie.

 

"Those are from Conner's trip back to Scotland last year."

 

"Oh, cool," Richie said taking the pictures. He found one picture

really interesting,

 

"Look, it's you, Taliesyn!" he held up a picture that did indeed show

Taliesyn sitting on a grassy spot against some rocks, her long silver

hair blowing behind her, her eyes looking off past the camera.

 

Taliesyn looked uncomfortable about the picture, "Yeah, Conner, thought

I should see Europe, so he took me with him."

 

Duncan looked up from the folded piece of paper, "What did you think of

Glenfinnan?"

 

"I thought it was beautiful and wild, but parts of it seemed dead to

me."

 

"Yes," Duncan sighed, "parts of it are. But it is beautiful *and* wild

just the same."

He went back the paper, while Richie and Taliesyn lapsed into silence,

drinking their coffee.

The paper was a note from Conner.

 

< Duncan,

I'm sending you a gift...well, you may not see it as a

gift, but trust me, she's special. Don't let her take off. She told me

she planned to stay in Seacouver for a while, but I know her, and she

could pack up and disappear at any moment.

No, she's not mine, she's not anyone's, she has a real fear

of men. She would not tell me why, but given her reactions to men, I

can hazard a guess. Tread gently with her. She was 17 when she died 9

years ago, and I have only an idea of what she went through between

then and when I ran across her 2 years ago. My assumptions of her life

until then make me want to kill someone, but since she has never

spoken of it and refuses to answer any questions, I've just tried to be

careful with her. At any rate, she doesn't like other people in

general, especially men. She will probably get a job in a club

'dancing,' you may have more luck convincing her to do something else.

I guilted her into taking some of my credit cards, and I have an

account set up for her...not that I expect her to use any of it. But I

would like it if she did.

One thing you should know is that when I first met her, she

thought I was challenging her, so she came at me, and would you believe

she was able to disarm me! She would have taken my head, but she

stopped at the last moment. I now know it was because she was able to

gleen from my thoughts that I was not a threat to her. Yes, cousin, she

read my thoughts. That's how she was able to disarm me, she uses your

own fighting style against you because she sees it in your mind. And

she's good, damn good. I hasten to say she could give you a good 'run

for your money,' as the Americans say.

I have to leave the country for a bit. You don't want to know

why, just suffice it to say that Russell Nash has to disappear for a

while. At any rate, Taliesyn was ready to take off, so I have sent her

to you. She tends to be hostile, and doesn't make friends easily...at

all really. I think I may be the only friend she's had in a long

time...if she even considers me a friend. I ask only that you try to

befriend her. Perhaps, your young friend, Richie, may have some luck,

if his hormones don't overwhelm him. I don't know much about his

history either, but I've seen them get the same look in the eyes, so

maybe there is something there that he may recognize...maybe not.

Either way, try not to run her off. She will try her damnedest to piss

you off royally, but don't give in to the desire to kill her. She is

special to me, perhaps the same way that Richie Ryan is special to you.

Take care, cousin!

Conner

 

P.S. ask her how many fights she got into on the way there.>

 

 

Duncan sighed deeply, <Great> he thought <Conner goes off and leaves me

with some loose cannon> he looked over at Taliesyn sitting on the sofa

staring into the coffee cup, <a loose cannon, with telepathy...I wonder

if she's reading my thoughts right now>.

 

"Yes." She was still staring into the coffee.

 

"What?" Richie asked, curious at Taliesyn's answer to a question he had

not heard.

 

Duncan looked to Taliesyn, "Do you want to tell him?"

 

She looked up then and rolled her eyes, "What the hell, it's not that

big of a deal. I could do it before I became Immortal and I'm still

cursed with it now." She looked toward Richie on the other side of the

sofa, "I'm a telepath, or empath, whatever, I can sometimes read

thoughts, emotions."

 

"Wait," Richie didn't look convinced, "are you serious? Mac, is she

serious?"

 

"Yes, she's serious." He indicated the note from Conner, "Conner told

me about it in his little note."

 

"It's not a big deal, I can't even do it all the time." She seemed

defensive. "And now it really only works in a fight, other times, it's

kinda sketchy."

 

"Do you think it changed because of becoming an Immortal?" Duncan

asked.

 

"Maybe. All I know is, that since I died, it's only reliable during a

fight. But I guess that's not so bad, because I can tell what an

opponent is planning. I can see their move before they do...." She

trailed off, seeming to realize she was giving out her fighting secrets

to virtual strangers. "Anyway, it's no big deal."

 

"No big deal," Duncan echoed. "Conner wanted me to ask you how many

fights you got into on the way here."

 

"Four." She answered. "But one of them ran when we were interrupted, so

he doesn't really count."

 

"What about the other three?" Duncan inquired, "What happened with

them?"

 

"Well, gee, I'm here, aren't I?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "What

do you *think* happened?"

 

Richie stared at Taliesyn, "You took three Quickenings on the way

here? How long were you on the road?"

 

"It took me a week and a half to drive here. And yes, three. I'm

female, and I'm little, male Immortals see me, and they see a real easy

Quickening, so they challenge me. I used to try to talk my way out of

it, but now, " she looked Richie right in the eye, "now, *fuck*

them...they want my head, they can try. I don't fucking care. Good luck

to them. They're all fucking the same." She slammed her empty cup on

the table and stood, glaring down at both male Immortals, "You're *all*

fucking the same."

 

She started gathering her things.

 

"Wait, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to upset you." Richie said, "Please

don't leave yet, you haven't even used the phone."

 

Taliesyn paused in putting on her coat. She looked up to where Richie

had risen to his feet, her head barely reached his shoulders. Again

when she looked into his blue eyes, her own eyes got soft.

 

"I guess I overreacted." A blush worked its way up to her pale cheeks,

"I tend to do that. Conner's always telling me I'm too hot headed."

 

She gingerly sat back down on the edge of the sofa.

 

"Well, Richie tends to be just a *tad* hot headed, as well, so you two

have something in common." Duncan said wryly.

 

"Just a tad, at times," Richie took no offense at his mentor's words,

and the look that passed between him and Duncan spoke of time shared,

both good and bad. "I seem to remember someone else losing his cool a

time or two."

 

"But at least none of us has lost his head," Duncan pointed out, "or

*her* head." He indicated Taliesyn.

 

Their obvious closeness seemed to make her uncomfortable, "The phone?

You said I could use your phone."

 

"Of course," Duncan got up and retrieved the portable phone from its

cradle.

 

"Oh, and could I also use your directory book?"

 

Duncan started looking for it. <I know it's here somewhere, it's a damn

big book, I couldna have lost it>

After banging around in the kitchen, he gave a shout of victory and

marched back to where Taliesyn sat, handing her the tome with a courtly

flourish, "Your book of wisdom, m'lady. " he flashed her his most

charming smile.

 

"Uh, yeah, thanks," she didn't seem to know what to say to such

silliness, so she just took the book and began flipping through it to

the motel section.

 

Duncan had a sudden thought that if she left, they'd never see her

again.

 

"You know, it's getting rather late." He began, trying to sound casual.

"Why don't you eat dinner with Richie and me, and then you can stay

here tonight and find a place in the morning?"

 

Taliesyn looked from Duncan's charming face to the one big bed in the

big open loft, back to Duncan, "I don't think so."

 

"It's no trouble, and that way you can make a fresh start in the

morning."

 

"I said, I don't think so," Taliesyn's voice spoke volumes on what she

thought of Duncan's suggestion.

 

Richie recognized the tone and the genuine fear behind it, "I could

stay here, too, or you could hang at my apartment and I'll stay here

with Mac." He waited until her eyes met his. "That way, you can have

privacy and still not have to worry about a place until tomorrow," he

finished softly.

 

Taliesyn decided then and there that there was something about this

Richie Ryan, something that was dangerous to her, whenever she looked

at him, she wanted to just go along with whatever he said.

 

She opened her mouth to protest, she even began to form the words to

decline the offer, but obviously her brain and her mouth were not

communicating, because she said, "Okay, we can all stay here...I mean

we can all sleep here together...umm, no, that's not what I meant, I

mean we can all..." her stammering trailed off. "Okay."

<There, I said it. Why I said it I have no idea. I must remember not to

look him in the eyes, it is bad for me. I don't know how, but if it

makes me act like a blithering idiot, I need to stop.>

*************************************

 

The chili Duncan had originally fixed had hardened into a mortar type

substance during conversation, so he ordered in.

 

"Okay. Ready to read your fortune cookie?" Richie asked, handing Duncan

and Taliesyn theirs.

 

"Why do we have to read them out loud?" Taliesyn had relaxed a little

during dinner, letting Duncan and Richie make casual conversation.

 

Duncan laughed, "Richie has a tradition about reading the fortunes."

 

"Hey! Mac, it's not my tradition, I just picked it up somewhere."

 

Taliesyn looked from one man to the other, "What is this tradition?"

 

Richie's blue eyes sparkled with laughter, "You read the fortune out

loud," he began, "then you add 'in bed' at the end."

 

"Why?" she asked.

 

"Because it's funny. Usually the fortune isn't something that you would

do in bed, so it sounds silly to add it." Richie tried to explain.

 

Duncan came to his rescue, "It is funny, but we can forgo it tonight."

 

Taliesyn did not want to hurt Richie's feelings; she didn't know why

she cared, but as relaxed as she was, she decided to just go with

instinct. Instinct said that it would be okay to be funny right now, so

she said, "No, I don't want to step on someone's traditions. Let's do

it. Who goes first?"

 

"I will, since it was my idea, you guys can laugh at me first," Richie

broke his cookie open and brushed the crumbs off the little slip of

paper, laughing as he looked at it.

 

Taliesyn looked at him, "Well, are you gonna read it or not?"

 

Richie looked up at them, "Okay, ready?" he read, "'Your enthusiasm for

life with take you far' in bed"

 

Duncan tried very hard not to laugh, but lost the battle, and he and

Richie both laughed hard. A softer, husky chuckle gave them both pause,

and they looked over to see Taliesyn smiling.

Taliesyn frowning was lovely, Taliesyn smiling and chuckling was truly

beautiful. Her eyes became more silver than grey and sparkled with

something more than the wariness and distrust the male Immortals had

seen since meeting her.

 

Squirming in her seat at their open staring, Taliesyn cleared her

throat, "Okay, I'll go next." She cracked open her own cookie and read,

"'Let a pleasant stranger be your guide.'" She looked up to meet

Richie's blue eyes as she finished with, "in bed."

 

She quickly dropped her eyes back to the table as a blush stained her

pale cheeks. "Your turn, MacLeod."

 

Duncan made a mental note of the exchange between his protégée and

Conner's young friend while he extracted the slip of paper from his

fortune cookie.

 

"I think I'm too old for this, " he sighed as he read it.

 

"I'm gonna tell Conner you said that, since he's older than you."

Taliesyn prompted, "Be a man, MacLeod, read the fortune." Again, her

smile animated her stoic face.

 

"Okay, okay, no threats! It says 'a sharp mind is your greatest asset'"

 

"In bed." Richie and Taliesyn finished in stereo.

 

Richie punched Duncan lightly in the arm, "That was a sharp *what,*

Mac?"

 

It was Duncan's turn to feel warmth on his cheeks, "I think on that

note, I'll start the dishes."

 

Taliesyn rose, "No, let me, you've both been great. I can clean up."

 

Duncan waved her back down, "You're the guest tonight, Richie and I can

do KP duty. You relax. If you want to shower or anything, it's all

yours, make yourself at home."

 

Richie grumbled good naturedly about not actually living at the loft

so he should be a guest, but he picked up dishes and white cardboard

boxes and followed Duncan toward the kitchen area.

Taliesyn took a shower...dragging her duffel, trenchcoat, and sword

into the bathroom with her. By the time she came out of the bathroom,

the exhaustion from four fights, three Quickenings, and driving for

days had hit her. Duncan thought he'd never seen someone so weary.

She was so tired, she barely argued when Duncan told her to take the

bed; that he would sleep on the couch and Richie could have a bed roll

on the floor.

Deciding that if Conner's kinsman wanted her head, she was too beat to

do a damn thing about it, she fell asleep almost immediately.

 

The dream took over immediately, too....

 

<Man, I have got to get a car> Taliesyn thought to herself as she

splashed through the rain, the wind trying to snap her tattered

umbrella inside out. Stepping up to the entrance of the club, she shook

most of the water off the umbrella before going in.

Music battered her ears as she wove around the tables of mostly male

customers and headed to the back, behind the stage.

 

"You're late again!" Ed, the club's owner yelled as she past him.

 

"Like it even fucking matters," she grumbled to herself.

 

"What was that?"

 

"Nothing. Sorry about being late, Ed."

 

He looked mollified, "Yeah, well, just get your ass ready, you're on

next!"

 

She was already taking off her soaked overcoat as she walked into the

dressing room which was shared by all the dancers.

 

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to come to work." A tall

redhead in red high heels and a red thong called, looking up from where

she was spreading equally red sparkle-gel around her nipples. "I had to

do your first set since you weren't here."

 

Taliesyn rolled her eyes at the fake pout that accompanied the

statement, "And I bet you got plenty of tips for it, too, so don't

bitch."

 

The red head, Kandy, laughed, "But I make such a good bitch."

 

"Being a bitch is Kandy's claim to fame." This from Jenny, whose hair

was blonde today, black yesterday, cherry-red two days before, but

blonde today. The large-breasted woman of 26 claimed even she didn't

remember what her natural hair colour was anymore.

 

Laughing, Taliesyn, moved to the rack of costumes and retrieved a black

leather biker outfit, complete with helmet and gloves. Taking off

everything but a black leather thong, she sat down in front of the

mirror and began assembling her makeup from the mountain of pots and

tubes piled on the table. Heavy black kohl on her eyelids, several

sweeps of mascara on her lashes, blood red gloss on her lips, she

called it done, and brushed her pale blonde hair until it gleamed

almost to her knees.

 

Jenny sighed, "I'd kill for hair like yours"

 

Taliesyn cracked a smile, "Not if you had to wash it everyday. Just try

getting ready for anything in less than an hour, and I swear you'd be

ready to start hacking away at it."

 

"Maybe, but damn, it's beautiful, and *natural* too, you bitch! Think

of all the money I'd save not having to colour mine all the time."

Jenny watched Taliesyn get dressed.

 

Taliesyn walked over to a pile of assorted footwear. Picking up a pair

of black high-heels and a pair of thigh boots with moccasin soles, she

turned to the other two women, "Heels or boots?"

 

"Boots," Jenny said immediately .

 

Kandy thought for a second, "Yeah, the boots. They look meaner, plus,

you can leave them on even when you take everything else off, and it'll

look sexy as hell."

 

"And, they make you look taller," Jenny pointed out.

 

Taliesyn looked down at her almost five foot two frame, "What? You

saying I'm short?" she affected a Bronx accent.

 

"Oh, no, short, you? Of course not!" Kandy tried hard not to laugh.

 

Jenny just giggled.

 

>From the open dressing room door, they could hear the music dying down,

signaling the end to the current dancer's set.

 

Taliesyn rolled her tired shoulders, pulled on the helmet and gloves,

and sighed, "Okay, that's me, catchya later!"

 

Kandy and Jenny waved to her retreating form as Ed made his

introduction,

 

"Alright ya'll, welcome to Les Femme's, New Orleans premier exotic

dance club. Hold on to your...heh heh heh...seats! Les Femmes is proud

to present Syn, and when you get a load of her, you'll be more than

ready to. Here she is fellas...Syn!"

 

ACDC's "Back In Black" began to pound from the clubs sound system, the

lights dimmed, the roar of a motorcycle drowned out the music as a huge

Harley Davidson was ridden up on stage and stopped. The leather-clad

figure dismounted, hips grinding to the beat of the music, sliding the

gloves off one finger at a time and tossing them behind the cycle. As

the customers began to cheer for more, the small pale hands unzipped

the leather jacket, it landed near the gloves. The black leather

boustier barely covered the nipples, the laces straining until the

hands deftly untied them. The material bravely remained covering the

nipples for a beat, then gave into gravity and the gyrations of the

lithe body, falling open, revealing pale breasts with dusky pink

nipples. The all male audience went wild at the site of the silver

hoops driven through the small nipples and dollar bills were thrust

into the g-string by hot sweaty hands. The hands tried to grab more

than the g-string but the slender hips just swung out of reach over to

the next offered bill. As the music reached its loud conclusion, the

helmet was unsnapped and tossed across the stage...silver-blonde hair

fell in waves, gleaming in the harsh lights.

Taliesyn scooped up any bills tossed up on the stage as she moved out

of the spotlight.

 

"Hey! Jimmy!" she called to the bartender. "Thanks for letting me use

your cycle!"

 

"No problem, Syn. I'll go get it before the stage collapses!" He waved

back.

\--------------------------------------------

 

**The sleeping form, huddled on the bed in the loft, stiffened and a

soft moan issued as the memories shifted in the dream...moving

forward.**

\-------------------------------------------

 

<"Hey! Syn! You got a ride home?" Kandy called as they were locking up

the club.

 

Taliesyn avoided her eyes, "Yeah, you go ahead, I'll finish locking

up."

 

"Okay, c'mon Jenny, I'll drop you off on my way." Kandy and Jenny

headed out into the still raining night.

 

Taliesyn fought the old rusty lock, mumbling to herself, "You gotta

love New Orleans, it's just so *lush* and moist." <If it gets anymore

moist, the graveyards are gonna flood.>

 

With a squeak, the key finally tuned, making the club doors as secure

as they could be given the state of the lock. Taliesyn opened her

umbrella and headed back to the roach motel she'd called home for over

a month now. It was a shit-hole, home to pimps and hookers and drug

addicts, but when you're a minor on the run and on your own, you stay

where no one asks questions...where no one cares as long as the rent's

paid.

 

Taliesyn was halfway there, cutting through an alley to get there

faster and get out of the deluge, when a sound further into the alley

stopped her. It was too dark to see more than a large shadow, but she

could sense the menace rolling off the figure, could see his intentions

like freeze frame images in his drugged up mind. She quickly turned

back the way she'd come, almost running right into the other two men

who were coming up behind her. Their thoughts, too she could read, and

quickly tried to think of an escape.

 

"Look, guys, I'm just a working girl, I don't have anything worth

taking." She said, backing around, trying to position herself so she'd

have all three of them in her field of vision. She collapsed the

umbrella so that it made a better weapon and held it in front of her,

trying to seem non-threatening but tough at the same time.

 

"Well, shuga`, I wouldn't say you was walking around empty-handed," the

first man spoke, his words slurred just slightly. "What ya'll think,

think she got som'tin for us?"

 

The other two just laughed, one of them rubbing his crotch.

 

"Wait, list-" she began, but before she'd finished, they were on her,

all three of them. She fought them, using every trick she knew, but

they seemed to be everywhere at once. She could smell the cheap booze

on their breath as they kept trying to lick her face...could smell

their unwashed bodies as they tossed her down on the wet, muddy

concrete, the odor of garbage filling her nose as the muddy water

filled her mouth. While they were ripping her leggings off her, she

managed to get her knee up and slammed it hard into the crotch of one

of them. He howled in agony, falling over her chest, grabbing his

bruised anatomy.

 

"Bitch! Fucking cunt!" One of his companions yelled, slapping her so

hard her neck twisted painfully. She tasted blood, and felt sure her

nose was broken.

 

She started trying to calm herself, <okay... breathe... this is

happening...don't fight...breathe...live...don't fight...live>.

 

She almost had herself in hand, when the one she'd injured pulled out

a viscous looking switchblade, the *snick* of it opening seemed so

loud...and then there was no sound. Like slow motion, the blade came

down, sliding into her chest again and again...pain, ice-cold, like the

rain was so cold it froze the wounds, the blood bubbling out.

Her last conscious thought, as her vision faded, was <I'm dead, and no

one will even care>.

As the darkness overtook her, she felt pain lower down, felt one of

them thrusting even while the other kept stabbing her, over and over

and over...no sound, just the screaming in her head <NO! NO! NO! NO!>

***************************************

 

"NO! NO! NO!"

 

The screams woke Richie and Duncan. Duncan fell off the sofa and

smacked his head on the coffee table, he saw Richie stumbling around

with his sword.

 

"NO! NOOOOOO!!!!" The screams became mewling sounds, like a trapped

animal.

 

Duncan and Richie looked at each other, realizing at the same time that

the sound was coming from the bed, from Taliesyn.

Duncan got to her first, and reached out to grab her flailing arms

before she hurt herself. Her eyes popped open, not seeing, the silver

depths crazed in fear. She kicked out at him and fought harder, sounds

of sheer terror coming from her locked jaws.

 

"Mac! Stop! Let go of her!" Richie pulled Duncan away from the bed.

 

"Dammit, Richie! I'm trying to calm her down!"

 

"I know, Mac. But," Richie's voice was calmer, "don't grab someone when

they're having a dream like that."

 

Mac seemed surprised, "How do you know what she's dreaming about?"

 

Richie didn't meet Mac's eyes, looking instead toward the slowly

calming form on the bed, "I've had those dreams, and the worst thing to

do is to touch, or grab someone when they're having those dreams."

 

He looked at Mac then, "No. Don't ask about it now. I can't, not right

now."

 

Mac didn't know what to say. He remembered how Richie used to react to

him or Tessa touching him when he first moved in with them, realizing

that there were many things he did not know about the boy then or the

man now.

 

Mac watched Richie ease himself slowly to the edge of the bed, being

careful not to jar the bed or to touch the wild-eyed, panting girl.

 

"Shhh, Taliesyn, you're safe here. Remember, Richie and Duncan, friends

of Conner's?" Richie spoke softly, his voice pitched low, "You are safe

here, you are so safe here. No one will ever hurt you here, shhh..."

 

Taliesyn's eyes cleared. She knew where she was, and who was there, but

it was obvious she was not sure about her safety. Her eyes darted from

Richie to Duncan and back to Richie, watching every movement.

 

"Mac," Richie spoke to Duncan, but kept his eyes locked with

Taliesyn's, "could you get her something to drink?"

 

"Sure."

 

While Mac went to the kitchen area, Richie just maintained eye contact

with Taliesyn. Mac came back with a glass of water, handed it to

Richie. Just as Richie was offering the glass to Taliesyn, her face

paled. She threw back the covers, and launched herself from the bed,

knocking the glass from Richie's hand as she ran to the bathroom, not

even noticing the shards of broken glass crunching under her bare feet.

The bathroom door slammed, and then Richie and Duncan heard retching

sounds.

 

Richie sighed, "Shit," and stood up, also crunching glass under *his*

bare feet, "Damn it!" He sat back down on the bed pulling pieces of

glass out of his feet, the cuts healed immediately.

 

"I'll get this cleaned up," Mac said, grabbing the broom and dust pan

from the kitchen.

 

Mac looked back to Richie, "What do you think we should do about that?"

he said, nodding towards the closed bathroom door. The retching sounds

had ceased, and now it sounded like water was running in the sink.

 

Richie shrugged and stood up, "We probably shouldn't *do* anything.

Just act natural."

 

"Natural?" Mac asked. "Just how natural is it to have someone wake up

screaming and start vomiting?"

 

"Keep your voice down, will ya?" Richie glanced at the bathroom door.

The water had stopped. "Just don't make an issue of it, you know?"

 

Taliesyn came out of the bathroom, saw both male Immortals looking at

her, and stopped dead in her tracks.

 

"Sorry about breaking your cup," she said softly. "I'll buy you a new

one."

 

Mac also spoke softly, "Don't worry about it, it's no big deal."

 

She almost smiled.

 

"Yeah, no big deal. Umm, hmm, listen, I'm sorry I woke you guys up and

all. I'm gonna just go for a walk outside for a sec...uhh...you guys

go on back to sleep. I'll just be outside, so, umm..." she trailed off,

having forgotten to take a breath during the entire speech.

 

She grabbed jeans and sandals from her bag and was descending in the

elevator before Richie or Duncan could think of anything to say.

 

Just as her buzz faded, Richie noticed her trenchcoat still hanging on

the coatrack. He went over and inspected the lining.

 

"Hey, Mac?"

 

Duncan looked at him, "What?"

 

"I think she forgot something." Richie didn't sound happy.

 

"What would that be?" But with a sinking feeling, Duncan knew.

 

"Oh, nothing much." Richie pulled the black-hilted katana from

Taliesyn's coat. "Just her sword."

 

*************************************

 

Richie looked at Duncan.

Duncan looked at Richie.

Swearing, Richie pulled on his shoes and shirt and jacket, checked his

own sword and grabbed Taliesyn's coat. He was still fumbling to put the

katana back in the coat without slicing his hand as the elevator took

him downstairs.

 

Duncan looked to the ceiling, "Conner, what have you sent me?"

With a sigh, Duncan began cleaning up the broken glass, silently

wishing Richie luck.

\-----------------------------------------------

 

Having finally gotten the katana concealed inside the trenchcoat with

only minimal injury, Richie ran down the outside stairs to the street.

He had only taken two steps from the bottom when he felt the buzz and

hoped it was Taliesyn.

It was.

She was in the alley next to the building, sitting on top of a

dumpster, smoking a cigarette. She didn't even acknowledge Richie's

approach.

 

Trying to be calm, Richie laid her coat next to her. "Here, you forgot

something."

 

Still she didn't say anything, just took a long drag on the cigarette

and slowly exhaled, eyes closed.

Richie was tempted to pull his sword and see just how out of touch she

was, but decided not to push. He hopped up next to her on the dumpster,

careful not to touch her.

Without opening her eyes or turning in his direction, she offered the

pack of cigarettes to Richie.

 

"Wow, Dunhill's no less," he joked, taking one and lighting it with the

offered lighter.

 

Now her eyes opened, and turned to him.

 

"Yeah, I used to figure, that if I was going to kill myself slowly, I

may as well do it with style." She shrugged, "Of course, that was

before I found out that killing myself slowly was not an option."

 

"Yeah," Richie smiled, "a little hard to cut your own head off."

 

"Why bother, when there are so many others standing in line to do it

for you?" Taliesyn's smile did not reach her eyes.

 

Richie laughed, "Yeah, no kidding. Sometimes I feel like there's this

neon sign on my back, flashing *Newbie Immortal! Get Your Quickening

Here*"

 

This time, her smile did reach her eyes, but the sparkle dimmed too

quickly. Taliesyn finished the cigarette, flicked the butt away, and

lit another one. They smoked in silence.

 

After three of the expensive Dunhill's, Richie decided to attempt

conversation.

 

"So," he said casually, "what was it like, living with the great Conner

MacLeod?"

 

She slid him a glance. "What do you mean?"

 

"Well, it's just that I've heard so much about him from Mac and others,

and I've only met him a couple of times...not counting the first time I

saw him, since I was distracted by Mac coming after me with a sword,"

Richie smirked, remembering his big antique store heist.

 

Taliesyn smirked back at him, "Yeah, he told me about that whole Slan

Quince fiasco...bit scary, huh? Having guys with swords crashing

through windows and skylights, threatening your life. Enough to make

you swear off of a life of crime, huh?"

 

"No shit!" Richie tossed the last of his cigarette away. "They should

use that in Juvie...real inspiration to go straight."

 

That almost got a real laugh out of her, she shot him an understanding

look.

 

"Yeah, well, living with Conner was alright. He's cool in a kinda 'I'm

real old, but still a kid' sort of way. One second he's quoting some

super serious Eastern philosopher, the next he's joking about butter

knives or something. He's a good guy...whatever that is, you know what

I mean?"

 

"Mac's like that, too. Determined that you can trust him," Richie

sighed, thinking of how far he and Duncan had stretched that trust.

 

Taliesyn's next question took him out of his reverie.

 

"Do you?"

 

"Do I what?" he asked.

 

"Do you trust him?" She seemed intent on the answer, like it was

important to her.

 

There was no hesitation, "Yes, I do."

 

She seemed taken aback by his certainty. "Even after all that shit

about a Dark Quickening? Even after he almost took your head? How can

you be so sure about him after that?"

 

"Boy, Conner really did talk about us a lot, didn't he?" Richie asked.

 

"Yes, he wanted me to know who I would be meeting here. And you are

stalling."

 

Richie made sure he had her eyes before answering. "Yes, I trust him.

That wasn't him when he tried to take my head, and we've both come to

terms with it. I trust him. I have to."

 

"Why do you have to?"

 

"Because, in all the ways that count, Duncan MacLeod is all the family

I have. I never trusted anybody, no one, until I met him and Tessa. I

have to trust him, or I have nothing." He looked away from her stare.

"Do you trust Conner?"

 

She mumbled something Richie didn't catch.

 

"What?"

 

"I said," her voice was very low, " that I don't trust anybody, but if

I was going to trust someone, it would be Conner MacLeod."

 

Richie chuckled at the duplicity of the statement, "Sounds like you

*do* trust him."

 

"Maybe." She said. "Who knows?"

 

Richie decided to try a change of topic, "So how does your mind reading

thing work?"

 

"How does it work?" She raised an eyebrow.

 

"Yeah," he tried to elaborate, "you know, is it a feeling? Do you get

pictures in your head? Or words? Or what? How does it work?"

 

She was silent for a moment, trying to come up with an explanation, "No

one has ever asked how it works. I guess it's all of that...pictures,

feelings, thoughts, words. Mostly feelings. Sometimes I just pick up

thoughts from people, or emotions. I think, maybe, that only happens

when the thoughts or emotions are about me. I'm not really sure, I

can't control it, it just happens. It almost always happens during a

fight, but otherwise, it's sketchy. During a fight, I get flashes like

pictures or slides of what someone is planning."

 

Richie was impressed, "Wow. So, like, you really do see their move

before they make it?"

 

"Well, I think the more formally trained they are, the clearer the

picture," she said.

 

"Why is that?"

 

"Well," Taliesyn was warming to the topic now, having never really

given it much thought herself, "I think that the more formal training

they have had, makes them plan the moves in their heads, because of the

way they were taught. You know, kata and forms and shit like that?"

 

Richie thought about that, "So, you're saying, that the less formally

trained people are harder to fight?"

 

"For me, yes." She gave a wry grin. "Of course, I think that in any

fight, there comes a moment, when formal training goes out the fucking

window, and it's just hack, slash, and wait for the big light show."

 

Richie almost fell off the dumpster laughing. Taliesyn just watched

him, wondering what she was doing sitting on a garbage can talking to

this other Immortal that she'd just met.

 

<What is it about this guy?> she asked herself.

 

Richie hopped off the dumpster, and looked up at Taliesyn.

 

<Man, she's beautiful!> he thought.

 

Her eyes hardened, "Fuck off!"

 

She grabbed her trenchcoat and jumped down to stand several feet from

him, hostility in her every move as she pulled her coat on and checked

her sword.

 

"What'd I do?" Richie demanded, confused. Then he realized that she

must have heard his thought about her being beautiful.

 

"Just leave me alone." She said, and backed away.

 

Richie followed her. "Look, Taliesyn, I'm sorry. I didn't mean

anything, I just thought it."

 

She kept backing away, stopping only when she came up against the

building, and froze, staring at him.

 

Richie kept his distance, but tried again to explain.

 

"You can't hold that thought against me. That's not fair! Relax, okay?

I'm not gonna try anything, I just happen to think that you're

beautiful. Okay? There, now I've said it out loud. I think you're

beautiful."

 

"You just want a quick fuck! Men, especially Immortals! You see me, you

see an easy fuck, or and easy Quickening, or maybe both!" Her voice

rose with fear, her hand going for her sword.

 

"I do not!" Richie exclaimed.

 

"Liar!" The black katana was out now, but pointed at the

ground...Richie wanted it to stay pointed there.

 

He took a step closer, just out of reach of an attack. "No I am *not*

lying. C'mon, use that empathy thing, you know I'm not lying! I don't

know what all happened to you, or who hurt you, but I'm not one of

them! You know I'm not lying!"

 

<Don't look at him! Don't look!> she was screaming inside. Of course,

she looked at him...his blue eyes so open, honest and angry.

 

Richie was half expecting her to attack him, and was trying to decide

if he had it in him to pull his sword on her and fight her. The last

thing he anticipated was for her big silver eyes to fill with tears, or

for her to slide down the wall. The katana's clattering to the ground

was blaring in the silent alley.

 

 

Richie felt helpless as he watched Taliesyn crumple in on herself,

hugging her knees, her hair trailing on the ground and hiding her face.

She didn't make a sound, but Richie could tell from the shudders

wracking her body that she was crying. The silence of it made her

anguish seem that much worse. Trying not to startle her, her eased

himself down to sit next to her against the building. He made sure not

to touch her, and just waited. He wished he had words to make all the

pain go away, but he didn't. He knew that somethings just have to fade,

and that somethings never fade.

 

After a few minutes, Taliesyn lifted her head. She pushed her hair back

and wiped furiously at the tear tracks on her face, taking several deep

breaths.

 

"Sorry." Her voice seemed dead, like all the emotion had drained out.

 

"Why?"

 

She looked at him. "Why what? Why did I lose it, or why am I sorry?"

 

"Either one, both." He replied. "Why?"

 

"I'm sorry that I freaked out. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry

that I called you a liar...I know you weren't gonna try anything. I

just freaked." She looked away, and whispered, "I never cry."

 

Richie was not surprised. "Do you think it makes you weak to cry?"

 

"No. I just think it's a waste of time." She said, "Who cares anyway?"

 

"You want the list?"

 

"What?" She glanced back over to him.

 

"Do you want the list of people who care about you?"

 

"What the *hell* are you talking about?" She had no idea where this

conversation was going.

 

"I'm talking about the fact that you seem to think that nobody cares

about you." He was serious. "So, I thought I would point out that I

know of at least one person who cares about you...make that two people

who care about you."

 

"Who? *You*? You don't even know me." She threw at him.

 

"I know that Conner cares about you. He cares a lot about you. If he

didn't, he would not have been friends with you, he would not have

cared if you went to Scotland, and he sure as *hell* would not have

sent you to Mac. So actually, that means that Mac is going to care,

too...since Conner cares about you, Mac cares about you." He realized

he was lecturing, but he wasn't finished. "And, since you brought it

up, I do care about you. No. I don't really know you, but I know that I

care. I know what it's like to wake up screaming, not knowing where you

are, or what's real. So I *do* care."

 

He stopped. Waited. She didn't say anything, so he turned to look at

her. She was staring at him, eyes wide.

 

Finally, she blinked and cleared her throat. "Do you really think I'm

beautiful?"

 

It was Richie's turn to look confused. "Huh?"

 

She spoke slowly, "I asked if you really thought I was beautiful."

 

"Yes."

 

"I'm a stripper." She said it like a challenge.

 

He grinned, "I bet you make a killing."

 

Her mouth dropped open, then snapped shut. She looked away from him,

then quickly looked back at him. At first he thought she was going to

hit him, or cry, the look on her face was unrecognizable...suddenly,

she sputtered, then started laughing full-out. She laughed so hard, she

fell over on her side, holding her ribs. He watched, stunned, for half

a second, then joined her. Their laughter echoed through the alley.

 

Duncan, watching from the window above, heard them laughing, and

wondered how long it had been since he'd seen Richie laugh like that.

<Too long.> he thought.

A few minutes later, Duncan heard the elevator rise and felt them.

Taliesyn's face showed remnants of tear tracks, but her eyes sparkled

from the laughter she and Richie had shared. Duncan expected Richie to

be a bit smug about having gotten Taliesyn calmed down, but to his

surprise, his student just seemed contented.

********************************************

 

Duncan made breakfast since they were all too awake to try going back

to sleep. The Sun was coming up anyway. By the time Richie and Taliesyn

had all the blankets and sleeping things put away, Duncan was putting

the food on the table. Richie, naturally, dove right in.

 

"This is great, Mac. I was starving." Richie said, helping himself to

more toast.

 

Duncan laughed, "You're always starving."

 

"True," Richie admitted, smiling.

 

Taliesyn smiled inwardly at their banter. Though she'd never had any

real experience with families, she thought they sounded like a father

and son. Of course, looking at them, she would never have placed them

as being related; Richie with his blue eyes, reddish-blond hair, and a

tan, bore no resemblance to the dark haired, brown-eyed, olive skinned

Highlander. Of course, she didn't look like Conner, either. That

thought startled her.

 

<Why would I even think that? Conner's not my father! Damn, all this

homey stuff is fucking with my mind. I seriously need to get back to

real life.> She looked over at the two male Immortals, <Starting right

now.>.

 

Taliesyn cleared her throat, drawing Richie and Duncan's attention.

"Listen, Duncan, umm, Mac? Duncan you've been really great. Letting me

hang last night, the food, everything. I'm gonna go ahead and get out

of your hair now."

 

She stood and took her dishes to the kitchen area. Duncan looked at

Richie and raised an eyebrow. Richie shrugged helplessly at him, trying

to think of something, anything to keep her from taking off.

Taliesyn came back and began gathering her things, doing her best to

move quickly without having to look at either of the guys.

 

Richie broke the silence, "So, Taliesyn, you're gonna need an

apartment, right?"

She looked up at him, but he kept talking before she could interject.

"Right, you need a place. Why don't we go get a paper and see what's

up. Hey! I know, I think one of the people in my building just moved

out. We'll go there first, talk to my landlord, and see if that one's

open yet."

 

Taliesyn searched her mind desperately for a way around Richie's

logical plan. "Umm, well, I need to go to this place my boss in New

York told me about and see if I can get a job. I need to have a job

before I can get a place. Ya know, references and things like that."

 

Duncan was ready for that. "You can use me as a reference on any

applications. And, why don't you take some time and just get to know

the city before you start job hunting?"

 

She sighed, "Well, I have to have a job to pay rent and all, ya know."

 

"What about Conner's...." Duncan trailed off, realizing he might have

overstepped his place.

 

Taliesyn narrowed her eyes, "Conner's money? Did he tell you about that

in his little note?"

She stood up and stomped over to where Duncan sat at the table, her

hands on her hips.

Duncan glanced at Richie who gave him a 'You're on your own, pal' look.

Seeing no help from that corner, Duncan met Taliesyn's silver glare and

tried to think of a way out of the hole he'd just dug for himself.

 

"I don't need Conner's money, okay? I can take care of myself without

anybody's charity." She stated firmly.

 

It was Duncan's turn to sigh, "I know you can. I'm not thinking about

that. I'm thinking about Conner. He seemed like he really would feel

better knowing you were using his money. He *wants* you to use it."

 

Richie spoke up, "Wow. Taliesyn, come on. How often, does somebody just

hand you a blank check and say, 'Take my money, please.' You don't want

to hurt Conner's feelings, right?"

 

She rolled her eyes, "You guys are crazy. You're impossible!" She

looked at them. Blue eyes and brown eyes, both of them doing a fair

imitation of puppy dog eyes. "I just...I don't...aahh!"

She threw her hands up and turned away.

 

Richie stood and walked behind her, careful not to touch her. "Why

don't you compromise?"

 

She turned and tried to remind herself not to look in his eyes, as she

looked in his eyes. "Compromise?"

 

Richie grinned, "Yeah. Compromise. We look for an apartment today. Use

the Conner MacLeod funding to get furniture and all that stuff. Then,

you can look for a job after you're all settled. That's better anyway,

because, you'll need to have a permanent address for a job, right?"

 

Taliesyn realized she was being manipulated, but could find no way

around it...especially since Richie seemed so excited about helping her

find a place.

 

She crossed her arms over her chest, shuffled her feet, and looked back

up at him. "Oh, okay. I just don't want to...to...you know." Her eyes

begged him to understand.

 

He did understand. He slowly put his hands on her shoulders. She

tensed, then relaxed, letting his warmth seep into her.

 

"It's okay." Richie said softly. "It's because Conner cares about you.

I mean, he's been around a long time, and he's got a lot of money and

stuff, right? So it doesn't mean the same thing to him that it does to

people like you and me. He's not buying you. He's just showing he

cares. For people like him and Mac, money is just something you have,

you know? Like a tool, like a sword."

 

"Duncan does the same thing?" she asked softly.

 

"Yeah." He smiled, "Just go with it."

 

"Just go with it." She echoed.

 

With a half smile, she reached out and kind of patted Richie's chest.

Even though the contact was brief, Richie felt an urge to jump for joy

just seeing her loosen up a bit. He gave her shoulders a light squeeze

before dropping his hands and turning to Mac.

 

"Okay," He announced to the room in general. "We're going to find a

paper and get started. Alright with you, Mac, that I'm taking the day

off?"

 

Duncan chuckled, relieved, "Absolutely. Why don't we all meet up at

Joe's later? We can celebrate the great apartment search."

 

"Who's Joe?" Taliesyn asked.

 

"He's a friend. He owns a blues bar in town. He's a great guy, you'll

like him." Duncan answered.

 

Taliesyn gave one of her rare smiles, "Haven't you figured it out yet,

Duncan? I don't like *anybody*."

 

"Keep telling yourself that." Was Duncan's reply as Richie and Taliesyn

headed down in the elevator.

 

***************************************

 

"I can't believe this! Look at this! Four-hundred dollars for a couch!"

Taliesyn exclaimed.

 

This was the third furniture store they'd been in since talking to

Richie's landlord and securing the apartment. Taliesyn had found

something to complain about with every store they found. Richie was

determined that this time they weren't leaving without buying

something...a bed, a couch, a lamp, something.

 

"Hey, come on, this is leather. Besides, it's not like the Salvation

Army takes American Express Platinum cards. Keep your voice down. Here

comes a sales guy." Richie admonished.

 

The salesman strutted over.

 

"Can I help you kids with something?" He said, looking down his nose at

what he believed were two teenagers.

 

"I'll help you---" Taliesyn began hotly.

 

"Yes!" Richie quickly interrupted, glaring at Taliesyn. "We're

interested in furnishing an apartment. We need everything, bed, couch,

lamps...the usual."

 

The salesman was unimpressed. "Perhaps you should try Wal-mart, it

might be more in your price-range."

 

Richie grinned evilly, "Well, we don't have a price-range, but who's

your biggest competitor...and do they take plastic?" He pulled Conner's

rainbow of credit cards from his wallet and flashed them at the stunned

salesman.

 

"Uh, I'm sorry, umm, sir." The salesman tried to cover his obvious

blunder.

 

Richie's grin widened. "You should be. Tell me, who is you

competition?"

 

Another salesman rushed over, "I'm sure that won't be necessary, sir.

I'm Daniel Guyst, store manager. I'd be pleased to assist you,

Mister..." he held out his hand.

 

"Ryan." Richie finished for him, shaking his hand. "And this is Miss

Marks. The furniture is for her new apartment."

 

The manager, Daniel, reached to shake Taliesyn's hand. With a

non-too-gentle nudge from Richie, she allowed the man to take her hand.

 

"Michael, why don't you go in the back and help the stockboys?" Daniel

said to the first salesman.

 

"But, I..." Michael stammered.

 

"Run along now, while I assist our customers." Daniel continued with a

harsh look.

 

Turning back to Richie and Taliesyn with a smile, "Did I understand

that you wish to put everything on you card?"

 

"That's right." Richie winked at Taliesyn.

 

"Well, let's just see what you like. I assure you we have some

beautiful pieces, that will work wonderfully in an apartment. Just come

this way."

 

****************************************

 

Taliesyn collapsed into her new couch. "I can't believe I let you talk

me into this."

 

"Into what?" Richie asked, sitting across from her in her new loveseat,

putting his feet up on her new coffee table.

 

"Into this. Everything. Furniture, the apartment, just everything."

Taliesyn waved her hands around the apartment.

 

"Hey, come on. It'll be great. We're neighbors. This may not be the

best neighborhood, but you have to admit that the building has good

features."

 

"Features?" She raised an eyebrow.

 

"Yeah. Features. Four floors, only two apartments per floor, parking.

And, just in case you have to make a quick exit should any unexpected

guests show up, you know, the kind with long lifelines, there's easy

roof access and fire escapes. Everything an Immortal could ask for.

Plus, since we've got the only two apartments on the top floor, none of

the other tenets will be tromping around up here." He sat back with a

smile.

 

"I've lived in worse neighborhoods. And, I guess it's a cool set up.

But just because we're neighbors, doesn't mean that you get to come

over all time." She said sternly.

 

"Of course not. Just when I need to borrow the occasional cup of

sugar." He teased.

 

"Sugar? I knew I forgot something at the grocery store."

Richie looked at her. "Was that a joke? Oh my god! Did Taliesyn Marks

just make a joke? What's the world coming to?"

 

She half-smiled, "Yeah, I guess I did. Weird, huh? This is really

weird."

 

"What's weird?"

 

"Well, it's just that I feel funny. I'm just not sure what to do now. I

mean, this is great, the apartment is great, the furniture is great,

Duncan's great, you..." She trailed off, looking at him.

 

"What? I'm not great?" He made sad eyes at her.

 

"No, I mean, yes, you're great. I just don't know what to do now."

 

Richie thought she sounded so lost. "You know, when I first moved in

with Tessa and Mac, it totally blew my mind, ya know? I mean, here's

this big guy with this classy French lady, they got all this expensive

stuff, and live in this super cool place. You could tell right off,

too, that they loved each other more than life and like they have this

little world they live in, like Camelot or something, right? Then

there's me. Richie Ryan, thief extrodinaire, foster home runaway,

nothing special. And they say they want me to move in. To come live

with them in Camelot, ya know? No more foster homes, no more street

gangs or anything. Just a place and a job. No strings attached. I

think, why? Why me?"

 

"Why did they do it?"

 

"At first I had no idea. After I died, I thought it must have been

'cause Mac knew what I would become. But then, when I think about it,

he could have just set me up somewhere else. He did not have to move me

into his home. He and Tessa had it all, they did not need someone like

me around. I guess I still don't really understand why they did it. I

just know that they did and that for a while, me and Mac and Tessa were

like a family, sorta." He gazed off, remembering.

 

Taliesyn, got up and sat on the coffee table in front of him, "You

loved her, didn't you. Tessa, you loved her."

 

Blue eyes looked back at her, "Yeah. I did. She was special. Not like a

mother really, but special. Maybe better than a mother, because a

mother has to love you, right, they have to do shit for you? But Tessa,

she just, cared about me. I know she did."

 

"I'm sorry she's gone." Taliesyn said softly. "You must miss her."

 

"Dead. Not gone. She's dead. She died when I did." He rolled his eyes

at her. "But I guess you already knew that. I suppose Conner told you,

right?"

 

Taliesyn looked away, she felt ashamed for knowing something that

wasn't hers to know.

"Yeah, Conner told me. I wasn't around. I mean, he only told me a

couple of weeks ago, since I would be meeting you and all. I didn't

know Conner when all that happened. But I guess you know that, right?

Duncan told you, right?"

 

Richie looked puzzled. "Mac told me last night, while you were in the

shower, that you moved in with Conner a couple of years ago. He didn't

tell me anything else. Why would he?"

 

"Oh. Sorry. I know that Conner told Duncan somethings about me in his

note. I guess I just figured that Duncan let you read it."

 

"Nope. I didn't ask to, either." He smiled at her. "Not that I'm not

curious and all, but you can tell me, right? I mean, after all, we're

neighbors now."

 

"Funny." She stood up. "Come on. I need to finish putting all this

expensive stuff away. We're supposed to meet Duncan at your friend's

bar in an hour and a half."

 

Richie stood up, too. "I'll help. Though I don't know why you didn't

just let the delivery guys put everything away...it's part of their

job, ya know."

 

She started putting together a lamp, talking over her shoulder at him.

"I know, but it's my stuff. I've never had stuff of my own before. This

is my stuff, even if Conner paid for it, right?"

 

Richie understood completely. "Right. Are you sure you want my help?"

 

"Yeah, if you want. I mean, you're help is different from the delivery

guys help somehow." She gestured at him with the directions for

assembling the lamp.

 

"Well, I'm glad I rank higher than delivery guys, at least." He took

the directions from her. "Okay, it says you need to find 'rod A' and

attach it to 'rod B' with a screwdriver. Ya got a screw driver?"

 

"Nope." She smiled, "Hey, neighbor, can I borrow a screwdriver?"

 

**************************************

 

 

Joe looked up from wiping down the bar when the door opened.

 

"Hey! Mac!" He called, "What's up?"

 

Duncan took a seat on a stool in front of Joe, "Nothing much. Just

meeting Richie here in a while. Thought I'd come early and see how

you're doing."

 

Joe raised a grey eyebrow at him as he poured Duncan a shot of scotch,

"Well, I'm just pouring drinks, cleaning the bar, playing a little

blues, the usual. Oh, and watching you."

 

Duncan laughed, "Like you said, the usual."

 

Joe poured himself a drink and signaled to Mike to take over

bartending. Joe and Mac moved to a back table with their drinks and the

bottle.

 

As they were sitting down, Joe asked, "So, Mac, you gonna tell me about

her or not?"

 

Duncan decided to play dumb, "Who?"

 

"The Tooth-Fairy, Mac." Joe narrowed his eyes, "Taliesyn Marks, who

else?"

 

Mac affected a shock expression. "She's the Tooth-Fairy? The things you

Watchers find out, wow!"

 

"Cute, Mac, real cute." Joe chuckled. "But seriously. Taliesyn Marks

may look like one of your Scottish "Little People" but she's definitely

not."

 

Mac's expression turned serious. "What are you saying, Joe?"

 

"I looked her up last night after I saw her go into your place, and

she's more dangerous than she looks."

 

"You were watching outside last night?" Mac admonished.

 

Joe shrugged, "It's what we do, Mac. We watch."

 

"Yeah, I know. But you could have just come up and met her yourself."

 

"True, but I thought I'd wait and see what happened. I didn't know who

she was until I got back here and looked her up. She was easy to find,

too. Not too many female Immortals who are only five-foot-two with long

blonde hair." Joe said, knocking back his drink and pouring another for

himself and Mac.

 

Mac picked up the shot glass. "Yes, she is unique, that's for sure."

 

"Unique! Mac, in the past nine years, she's taken almost twenty heads!

That's not unique, that's dangerous!" Joe exclaimed.

 

"How many heads have I taken in nine years, Joe? More than twenty?

Less?" Mac asked.

 

Joe leaned forward, "That's not the point, Mac and you know it."

 

"Then what is the point, Joe? Look, she's Conner's student. Conner

trusts her. I've met her and no, she's not a sweet young girl, but I

don't think she's a hardened killer, either."

 

Joe rolled his eyes.

 

Mac went on, "Besides, there are some things about her that might not

be in you Watcher files."

 

"Oh. Like the whole mind-reading thing, maybe?" Joe leaned back,

looking smug.

 

Mac was surprised. "How do you know that?"

 

"Well, Mac, that's kind of a long story."

 

"I've got the time." Duncan said, sarcastically, "But you better give

me the short version, because Richie *and* Taliesyn will be here in

less than an hour."

 

"She's coming here?"

 

"Yes, Joe. She's coming here. With Richie. They've been out apartment

hunting and shopping all day. I thought it might be nice to introduce

Taliesyn to our 'good friend Joe' since she's sort of a friend of the

family." Mac said as he tossed back his drink. "So, tell me what you

know about her. "

 

Joe sighed.

 

"Please." Mac entreated.

 

"Okay, Okay. We actually know quite a lot about her, thanks to modern

record keeping." He leaned back in his chair, getting into the spirit

of things. "With Immortals born in the computer age, we can find out

almost everything about them. At least everything that gets put on

record somewhere; even things from before their first death. Taliesyn

Marks was born in July of 1971, no exact date since, surprise,

surprise, she was *just found* outside of Pensacola, Florida. She was

placed in a foster home and lived there for a few years, until the

foster father was investigated for child abuse. Then she went to a

state home until another foster family was found, this one was another

beauty...foster mother was an alcoholic, father was into kiddie porn. I

think by then she was about 8, and just began the foster home shuffle.

Florida State records say she ran away from the last of twenty-three

placements when she was sixteen. She also spent some time in Juvie

during those years for everything from drugs and alcohol, to theft and

prostitution. Not a pretty story, huh?"

 

Mac was having a hard time hearing this. His mind kept putting Richie

in Taliesyn's place, knowing that their stories were probably similar.

"No, not pretty. Go on."

 

Joe pursed his lips, "Alright. They lost track of her when she ran off

at sixteen. There was no record of her anywhere until her body was

found in New Orleans in 1988. She'd been working as a stripper at a

club, using the name Synthia Manor. They fingerprinted the body at the

scene, Florida authorities sent back her real name. Of course, by then,

the body had disappeared from the morgue. Coroner said the body was

probably stolen by someone from the New Orleans' voodoo community."

 

"Wait." Mac broke in. "What scene?"

 

Joe met his eyes. "The scene of her death, Mac."

 

"How?"

 

Joe looked down, he had known Mac would ask that. "She was the victim

of a multiple rape and stabbing. Police speculated that she was on her

way back to the rat-hole motel she stayed at, when she was attacked by

three maybe four guys. They did a lot of damage. One of the officers on

the scene wrote that he'd never scene so much damage done to a woman

with just a switchblade; which was still in the body. For New Orleans,

that's saying something."

 

Mac was horrified, "My God, Joe. All this is in your Watcher files?"

 

Joe nodded. "Yeah, if we can get the information, we try to be as

thorough as possible. With Immortals that are centuries old, it's not

as complete, with ones her age, or Richie's, we have a lot of

information."

 

"You have information about Richie's past? I never knew that."

 

"You never asked. And I'm not going to tell you anything, please don't

ask me to. Richie's a friend, like you are." Joe hoped Mac would

understand.

 

Mac leaned over, rubbing his hands over his face. "Okay, Joe. What else

do you know about Taliesyn? Though I'm beginning to feel ashamed for

asking. Actually, don't tell me anymore. I'll ask her if I need to, but

I think this is crossing a line here."

 

"I understand, Mac. But you should, at least know that there's someone

after her. He disappeared when she moved in with Conner, but we're

pretty sure he was watching her. And we're also pretty sure that the

four Immortals she ran into on her way here were his students."

 

"Who is it?" Mac asked softly.

 

"Guy by the name of Jonathan Kramer. Heard of him?"

 

Mac shook his head. "No. Should I have?"

 

"Well, he's only about two-hundred, maybe two-fifty. Takes in a new

student every ten yeas or so. Often ends up killing them, after

teaching them for a while. He found Taliesyn in Shreveport, Louisiana

in 1989. Taught her for a while, then started getting weird. His

Watcher said he began buying tons of books on telepathy and

mind-reading. Even had some so-called 'experts' in psychic research

come out and run tests on Taliesyn. That's how we know about the

telepathy. She took off after two years with Kramer, but he just kept

following her. He'd send his students after her, she'd kill them and

then keep on running. After a while, she just killed every Immortal she

ran across. Until she ran across Conner MacLeod, that is. Her Watcher

said Conner almost beat her. Conner's Watcher said that Conner would

have beaten her, but that he hesitated because she was young and

female...said that Conner has a problem killing women. Sound familiar?"

Joe raised his drink to Mac.

 

Mac acknowledged the jibe. "Yes. Conner would rather take a woman to

dinner than take her head."

 

Joe laughed. "Tell me. IS there any truth to the telepath thing?"

 

Mac took a deep breath, exhaling through his nose. "Yes, Joe. Only she

says it only works reliably during a fight. I know she got a few of my

thoughts last night, she admitted it, but said it's only touch and go

unless it's during a swordfight.."

 

"You're kidding? An Immortal with telepathy? She'd be invincible." Joe

was obviously having a hard time with the idea.

 

"I don't know about invincible, Joe. Conner said it's like she sees

your move in your mind before you make it. She said the same thing last

night. I don't think she likes having the ability. She called it being

'cursed.' She did say that she could do it before she died, but it

sounded like it worked better before she became Immortal. I think it

was more reliable before she became on of us." Mac told him.

 

Duncan paused in taking a drink, feeling another Immortal approach.

"Well, Joe, I think you're about to meet Taliesyn Marks. Please try to

be on your best behavior."

 

"How do you...oh. I hate that!"

 

*******************************************

 

Duncan just grinned at him, turning toward the door. Richie and

Taliesyn walked in laughing. Richie kept on smiling as he walked over

to Duncan and Joe. Taliesyn's smile was replaced by a neutral

expression; her eyes did a sweep of the bar. Duncan was a little

relieved that she didn't look at him with complete distrust, though as

he looked at her, he couldn't help but think about what he'd learned

from Joe. He vowed to himself, that he would find a way to let her know

he knew, figuring that was better than her suddenly discovering it on

her own and getting mad. He was worried that she'd sense his thoughts,

but she didn't seem to notice as she walked behind Richie.

 

Taliesyn wasn't reading anyone's thoughts but her own at the moment.

She was feeling off balance and a little confused. The day spent with

Richie was confusing. After years of hating the world and knowing that

everyone was a potential enemy, having Conner take her in scared her.

Two years with Conner had given her something she had never had...hope.

Then he had to leave, so before he could tell her to 'get lost,' which

she had been sure was coming, she'd told him she'd planned to take off

anyway. Instead of being relieved, Conner sent her to his kinsman.

Someone she knew he loved and respected. He'd acted like she was family

to him, and that, since Duncan MacLeod was Conner's family, too, then

Taliesyn should be family to Duncan MacLeod. Richie acted like it was a

forgone conclusion that Duncan would care about her, that Conner cared

about her, that he, Richie, cared about her. *No one* cared about

Taliesyn. That was the truth as she'd always known it, then suddenly

there are all these people who cared about her. She didn't know what to

think, or how to feel. She looked at Duncan MacLeod, and part of her

just wanted to run away. Away from his offered friendship and his

connection to Conner, the only person who'd ever taken a risk with her.

Who thought she was worth something more than a cheap fuck or a

Quickening.

Taliesyn jumped when she felt a touch on her arm.

 

Richie back up half a step, "Hey! You okay?"

 

"What? Oh, yeah. Umm, sorry. I was just, uh..." She realized that she'd

been so lost in thought she'd missed the introductions.

 

"You were just contemplating something really important, I bet, right?"

Richie teased lightly.

 

She rolled her eyes, easing back into the semi-comfort of their day

together. "Yeah, contemplating that I could drink you under the table."

 

Richie, seeing her need to keep it light, said, "We'll just have to see

about that, huh?" Turning to Joe, he repeated the introductions, "Joe

Dawson, this is Taliesyn Marks. Taliesyn, Joe."

 

Joe leaned on his cane and stuck out his other hand, "Nice to meet you,

Taliesyn. Like the bard?"

 

Taliesyn shook his hand, noticing the tattoo on his wrist, "Bard? Oh, I

think the person who named me had read one too many historical romance

novels. Nice tattoo. I didn't realize when Duncan and Richie said we

were going to 'Joe's' that you were *that* Joe."

 

"*That* Joe? Which Joe is that?" he asked.

 

"The 'Someone to Watch Over Me' Joe." Taliesyn said, sitting down at

the table.

 

Joe laughed, "I see Conner MacLeod filled you in, did he?"

 

She shrugged one shoulder. "Only on some things. Not everything, I'm

sure."

 

She looked up at Richie, Duncan and Joe. "Are we sitting, or what? You

guys are too tall. Sit down, I'm getting a crick in the neck."

 

Duncan sat down next to her, smiling, "A crick in the neck? Sounds

painful."

 

She nodded, "It is. Terrible. My neck's sensitive, ya know."

 

Richie sat, too. "Yours and mine, both."

 

Duncan rubbed his own neck, "Guilty."

 

Joe looked at the three Immortals sitting in his bar, trying to decide

if he should sit or let them visit. Taliesyn decided for him.

 

She looked up at him, "Why don't you sit down, Watcher. Tell me what

you've been telling Duncan about me."

 

Joe tried to decide if she was kidding or not.

 

She smiled. "Sit down. I promise not to kill anyone sitting at the

table, therefore, if you're sitting at the table, then you're safe,

right?"

 

Joe sat. "What about anyone not sitting at the table?"

 

"Jury's still out. Besides, there's not that many people here right

now. I like to have a full bar to choose from before I pick my next

victim." Her smile did not reach her eyes.

 

Joe seemed nervous, "I hope you're kidding."

 

Taliesyn's expression was very serious, "I am."

 

Richie got the waitress's attention, "What you drinking Tal?"

 

Taliesyn looked at him. "*Tal*?"

 

Richie grinned. "Yep. Taliesyn is too much of a mouthful. I have a

nickname, Mac has a nickname, Joe has a nickname. You now have a

nickname. So what do you want to drink, Tal?"

 

She cocked a brow at him, then smiled. "Okay, fine. Umm, Tequila shot

with a draft chaser?"

 

The waitress waited for Taliesyn to dig out her ID, which she did while

Richie hid a smile. The waitress seemed hesitant to believe that the

teenager in front of her was really over 21, but with an 'okay' from

Joe, she took the orders and left.

 

"I hate that." Taliesyn sighed.

 

Richie nodded in understanding, "Yeah, join the club. Cursed with an

eternity of being ID'd."

 

Taliesyn laughed, "Yeah, but then we could look really old and decrepit

like Duncan or Conner."

 

Duncan's jaw dropped.

 

Richie patted him on the back, "Yeah, I know. She's been doing that all

day."

 

She looked at both male Immortals. "What?"

 

Duncan answered for both of them. "Making jokes. I didn't know you had

it in you?"

 

"Who's joking?"

 

"See?" Richie pointed to her. "She's doing it again."

 

Duncan winked at him. "Maybe she's not kidding. What do you think? Do I

look decrepit?"

 

Taliesyn shook her head. "Nah, I'm just kidding. You don't look a day

over three-hundred, I swear."

 

The drinks arrived. Taliesyn poured a shot of Tequila, knocked it back

and poured another one.

 

"Go easy on that." Joe told her.

 

"Why? I like it."

 

"Who's driving?" Joe asked.

 

"Richie is, but don't worry, Joe. Two's all I drink...in public

anyway." She smiled. "So, did you and Duncan dig all the dirt on me, or

what?"

 

Joe had the grace to blush. He wasn't sure if he liked her or not, but

he decided she wasn't as rough as her file had made her out to be.

 

Duncan cleared his throat, "Actually, I did ask Joe what the Watcher's

knew about you."

 

She leveled her silver gaze at him. "And?"

 

"Joe said that an Immortal, Jonathan Kramer, is after you." Duncan

decided to save the rest of Joe's information for another time.

 

"Kramer's dead, I think." She said, drinking the second shot.

 

Richie looked at Duncan. "Who's Kramer?"

 

Taliesyn answered, "Jonathan Kramer was my first 'teacher'." She said

it like it was a curse.

 

Joe looked at her. "Kramer's still alive, according to his Watcher."

 

She turned wide eyes toward him, "What? But he stopped following me,

right? Why would he do that if he was still alive?"

 

Joe could tell she was scared. That fact alone, made him realize that

even though she was Immortal, even with all the heads she'd taken, she

was still just a girl, a girl who'd been abused and used. He felt shame

for the way he'd told Duncan that she was dangerous.

 

He said softly, "He was still following you. He just did it without

coming after you."

 

"Why? If he knew where I was, why wouldn't he keep trying to get me?

That's what he wants."

 

Joe seemed as puzzled as she was. "I don't know. We can't exactly go up

and ask him."

 

"Maybe he was afraid of Conner." Richie suggested, "Conner's got quite

a reputation, right? Maybe he figured he'd have to go through Conner

MacLeod to get to you."

 

Joe seemed impressed, "Richie, I bet you're right. Especially, since

those four fights she had on the way here were all with Kramer's

students."

 

Shocked, Taliesyn's eyes locked with Joe's. "What? They were his? Why?

Why would he send his students after me?"

 

Duncan put his hand on hers, she tensed, but stayed still. "Taliesyn,

Conner said you're a good fighter. Maybe Kramer figures that he'd

rather let one of his students try for you, then if they take your

head, he can just take theirs. Are you sure he wants your head for

himself?"

 

Richie leaned forward. "Why would this guy go to so much trouble?

What's his problem with you?"

 

"He doesn't have a problem with me." She said quietly. "He thinks I can

teach him my telepathy, empathy thing."

 

They all sat in silence, drinking for a moment.

 

Finally Taliesyn stood up, saying, "I better go. If Kramer's alive,

he'll just keep coming after me."

 

Richie grabbed her wrist. "Tal, we're not going to let him take your

head."

 

She put her other hand over his, "Oh, Richie. You don't understand. He

doesn't want my head. He must have known that his students wouldn't

kill me, that I'd be better than them. He was always trying to get me

to take more and more heads. He thought that the stronger I was, the

better I'd be able to control the telepathy. He sent his students to

die. They were sacrifices."

 

Duncan moved to stand next to her. "He sounds insane."

 

She looked up at him with sad eyes. "He is insane. And he's wrong,

too."

 

"What do you mean?" Joe asked.

 

"I mean, that taking more Quickenings doesn't make the telepathy

stronger. It doesn't make a difference. The only thing that changes, is

being able to read things at other times."

 

Duncan gently pushed her back into her seat, and at down himself. "Are

you saying that a Quickening takes away your ability?"

 

"Not all of it, just being able to use it outside of a fight. I used

get things pretty often, just normal things, especially if I was

nervous. Then, after I died, it seemed stronger when I fought. Each

time I take a head, I lose more of it. Now it only seems to work if I'm

near someone when they think something, and then only if it's about me.

It still works in a fight. But I have to say that the more fights I get

into, the more heads I take, it just gets confusing. Eventually, I'm

sure I'll never get anything except during a fight. Then, who knows, it

might just go away completely, and I'll just be normal." She looked at

the three men, "Well, as normal as an Immortal seventeen year-old can

be."

 

Richie looked at her with pure understanding, being an Immortal

teenager had some disadvantages.

 

"Well, you're not leaving." Richie held up a hand to stop an argument.

"I mean it. You just barely got moved in and everything. You can't let

this asshole run your life! You'll just be running forever."

 

Duncan nodded. "Richie's right. You can't run. And I think you're

forgetting something, here."

 

She looked at him, confused. "What?"

 

He smiled gently, "You're not alone here. You've got me and Richie.

Kramer may try to get you. But if he does, it'll be a fight he gets. He

may not want to actually take your head, he may want to try to get you

to teach him telepathy, but that's just too damn bad. If he won't leave

you alone, then you fight him."

 

"You don't understand. He won't fight me. He just tries to kidnap me.

Once he locked me in a cellar for two weeks before I dug myself out."

 

Duncan looked at her. "Yeah, but was there anybody that time who would

be looking for you?"

 

"No"

 

He took her hand, "See? Now you know, that if that happens, Richie and

I will be looking for you. We'll force Joe to tell us what the Watchers

know, and we'll find you. But that's a worst case scenario. Our best

bet is to make him come to you out in the open. If you have to fight

him, can you beat him?"

 

"I don't know. I never know. You know how it is, you just fight,

right?" She asked.

 

Duncan sighed. "Okay, fine, you just fight. You've been sparring with

Conner, right?"

 

She nodded.

 

"Well, now you spar with me and Richie." He gave her hand a squeeze and

picked up his drink.

 

Taliesyn looked at him, eyes huge, "Why are you doing this? You don't

even know me."

 

"Conner knows you. Maybe I want the chance to know you, too. I can't

get to know you if you take off, or if Kramer kidnaps you or kills you.

What would Conner do if he knew about all this?"

 

She shrugged, "I don't know."

 

Brown eyes met silver, "Yes, you do know."

 

She closed her eyes and nodded. When she opened her eyes, she looked

over at Richie. He winked at her. Suddenly, she wished Conner were

there. She thought of all the times she'd almost held his hand, or

almost hugged him, and wished she actually done it. Her eyes stung and

she got up and headed to the bathroom before Joe, Richie, or Duncan

would notice the tears.

 

Watching her walk away, Joe felt his own eyes sting. "Man, Mac, I feel

awful."

 

Richie laughed, "Why, Joe? Did you think she was some kinda hardened

killer or something?"

 

Joe flushed. "Things in her file make her seem dangerous. She's taken a

lot of heads, killed some good people. Her file almost makes it seem

like sport to her."

 

Richie stood up. "She is dangerous, Joe. Mac's dangerous. Hell! *I'm*

dangerous. You just already know us. You don't know her."

 

Joe saw the truth in that. "True. Plus, I have to admit, the only

female Immortal I've ever really met is Amanda."

 

Mac smirked. "Well, she sure as hell is not like Amanda. Though, Amanda

is dangerous, too."

 

Richie punched him lightly in the arm, "Yeah, but Amanda is mostly just

dangerous to your bank account."

 

"I'm going to tell her you said that, Richie."

 

"That's okay, Mac. What's she gonna do to me? I'm broke. She'll just

take it out on your Visa card."

 

All three men were still laughing when Taliesyn returned to the table.

 

"I miss something?" She asked.

 

Joe pushed himself up to stand. "No, these guys are just picking on

someone who's not her to defend herself. Another friend, Amanda."

 

Taliesyn recognized that name. "Ahh, yes, Amanda. Conner told me not to

let her near his credit cards."

 

That had all three guys holding their sides laughing. Duncan laughed so

hard he was almost in tears.

 

Taliesyn watched them, not quite sure what she'd said. Once they'd

laughed themselves out, she asked Richie if he wanted to stay. She was

ready to go back to her apartment. Richie was ready, so they said their

good-byes, promising Duncan they'd be at the dojo early to workout.

 

On the way out the door, Richie said, "So neighbor? Can you cook?"

 

Her answer cracked a rib, but he'd healed by the time they got back to

the apartment building.

 

********************************************

 

"Must you be so fucking chipper?" Taliesyn huffed as best she could

while trying to beat Duncan back to the dojo.

 

Richie had already beaten them both back, proving that he could run

very fast even without being chased by cops.

 

Duncan laughed as they ran up the stairs,. "What? You don't like

mornings?"

 

"I don't like running." She said collapsing next to Richie on a bench.

 

"Running is good for you." Richie was obviously not going to be a help

here.

 

Taliesyn looked at both sweaty, grinning male Immortals. "Neither of

you have to wear a sports bra."

 

Neither Richie or Duncan could dispute that, so Duncan decided to just

drop that subject.

 

Walking to the middle of the hard-wood floor, he smiled charmingly,

"Kata anyone?"

 

Richie grinned and pulled Taliesyn to her feet. "Come on, Tal. I

learned early on, just to give in early."

 

She smiled up at him. "I like doing kata."

 

Though their styles differed, the three moved fluidly through several

forms. Taliesyn learned somethings to add to what Conner had taught

her. She'd never really had any formal training until Conner, so

working out with Duncan and Richie was an experience. They spent a few

hours going over different areas before moving on to actual sword-work.

Duncan realized that it'd been a long time since he watched Richie

workout, and Richie had come along way from the time when Duncan could

toss him around easily. Richie actually tossed *him* around some now.

 

Soon they got their swords to begin real sparring. Richie was still

getting the feel of the new two-handed weapon he used now since his

rapier had been broken by Harish Clay, so he and Duncan sparred first,

while Taliesyn watched.

 

<Beautiful.> She thought. She'd never actually gotten to see other

Immortals spar. She'd sparred with Kramer which was not a good memory,

and she'd sparred with Conner. Sparring with Conner was always fun,

because he made her laugh. He seemed to realize that if she was

enjoying the fight, her telepathy shut down somewhat, and she was able

to just use her skill rather than read her opponent's mind. She liked

sparring with Conner because it was almost like playing...well, playing

where you got bloody and cut up, but being Immortal, that was play.

But, she'd never just sat and watched. Conner had told her that Duncan

was good, really good. He was. He moved like a dancer, body flowing

into the moves, his katana cutting smoothly to be met by Richie's

blade. Richie seemed more intense. She could tell he was not quite used

to the feel of the two-handed sword, but she could also see how good he

could be. Conner said that some people were just born to the sword;

that it wasn't a matter of just being Immortal, because not all

Immortals had the passion for sword-fighting. Conner said that Duncan

was born with that passion. Watching Richie, Taliesyn knew he was born

to the sword, too. Duncan was able to disarm him finally, but Taliesyn

knew that none of the Immortals she'd fought would have been able to.

Richie would have beaten them. Not easily, but he would have. She

didn't know why, but knowing that made her feel good, it lightened

something in her chest. She thought it might be her heart, but was

saved from further contemplation by Duncan's attack. She was so caught

up in thoughts about Richie, she barely got her own katana up in time

to block Duncan's slice.

 

"Wake up!" He shouted as he came in for another attack.

 

She didn't bother trying to answer, she just blocked it, and made a

move of her own. As they moved around the dojo floor, she started

getting pictures in her mind, like slides...Duncan's thoughts, his

moves.

Duncan found his sword blocked at every move. He was bleeding from

several wounds, made because of openings he didn't realize he made.

Just as he was about to counter a move, Taliesyn would change direction

and come at him differently than he expected.

Finally, he realized what was happening, right about the time his

katana was knocked from his hand, and her own blade touched his neck.

They froze there, both of them gasping.

 

"Wow!" Richie's exclamation broke their position, and they turned to

look at him.

 

Taliesyn dropped her sword, hands flying to her face. <Oh god! What

have I done. Duncan's going to hate me now!> She turned away, trying to

stop the tears. <I've never cried so much in my life!>

 

Duncan's voice was soft, "Hey. What's this? Why the tears?" He reached

out and gently turned her to face him.

 

He pulled her hands away from her face and wiped the tears with his

thumbs. "What's wrong?"

 

She blinked several times to clear her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean

to do that, I swear!"

 

"What? Cry? I have to admit, that's not the usual reaction when someone

disarms me. What happened?"

 

She couldn't believe he was smiling at her. Just like Conner. Conner!

Conner never got pissed when she beat him. Conner never hit her or

punished her for disarming him. Why did she expect Duncan to?

 

She wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm sorry. I just, umm, I don't

know what happened. It just takes over. I see the moves and part of me

just shuts off, ya know? I mean, it's like I have to move. I can't

stop."

 

Richie walked over to them. "You mean, when you got the pictures of

Duncan's moves, you just go with it?"

 

"Yeah. It's like it takes too much energy to do anything else. I'm

sorry." She turned back to Duncan. "It feels like cheating. You could

have beaten me, but I think you got surprised."

 

He chuckled. "Well, I was definitely surprised, but I wouldn't be so

sure I could beat you. You're good, fast. Don't be so upset about it.

Conner beats me everytime I spar with him."

 

Richie gaped. "He does?"

 

"Yes, he does. Now, Taliesyn, you need to be prepared in case you're

right about losing your telepathy. You're good, but you'll feel

handicapped without it, and if you feel off, you'll fight off."

 

She looked at her sword. "You want to spar with me *again*?"

 

Duncan picked up her sword and handed it to her. "Yes, I do. But first,

I want you to spar with Richie."

 

"Great! I can get my ass kicked twice in one day! What a bargain!"

Richie called as he grabbed his own sword.

 

Taliesyn and Richie met in the center of the floor, waiting to see who

would make the opening move. They waited...and waited...and waited.

 

Finally Duncan, broke in, "I think the idea is to actually try to hit

each other with those long sharp things."

 

"You're a funny guy, MacLeod." Richie tossed at him, as he tried to hit

Taliesyn with said 'long sharp thing.'

 

Their blades met. Over and over, sparks flying, clanging of metal on

metal echoing in the dojo. Taliesyn met everyone of Richie's attacks.

Every once in a while a picture of his move would form in her mind, but

it would fade before she could act on it. Just as the vision would

form, there would be a bright flash, like a camera had gone off, and

the picture would be gone. It was giving her a headache.

 

Richie moved in close, the vision was there, then gone in the flash of

light behind her eyes. Her eyes cleared when she felt steel on her

neck. She looked from the blade at her neck to Richie's hands clasping

the hilt of his sword, to his blue eyes smiling at her.

 

"What the *hell* was that? And how in the *hell* did you do it?" She

asked, easing away from the blade.

 

"It worked?" He seemed proud of himself.

 

"Worked? What worked?" Duncan was still getting over the shock of

seeing Richie beat Taliesyn.

 

Richie lowered his sword. "I remembered that Taliesyn told me that less

formerly trained people were harder for her to fight. And I thought of

how she said that during a fight, she got pictures of moves in her

head. So, I just focused on her blade, and the sparks when the blades

met. I also tried to clear my mind of any forms or kata."

 

"You cleared your mind of your training?" Taliesyn was intrigued.

 

"Yeah." He said. "I tried to put the thoughts in my body rather than my

mind. Wait, that sounds crazy, I know, but I don't know how else to

explain it."

 

Duncan turned to Taliesyn. "What did you get?"

 

"Umm, well, the picture would start to form, then it was like a camera

flash went off in my head. It was so confusing, I couldn't follow it.

The next thing I know, my sword's on the floor and Richie's in for the

kill." She raised her eyes to Richie's.

 

Duncan clapped his hands. "Okay, I want to try this."

 

He did. He wasn't able to clear his mind as easily, probably because

he'd been studying for longer than Richie, but he was able to do it.

They worked on it until the dojo opened and some people showed up to

workout. By then, all three were exhausted...mentally as well as

physically.

 

After they'd taken showers, they met in the dojo office.

 

Taliesyn gulped from her water bottle, while Richie and Duncan talked.

 

"Okay, Mac. So we know this works, right?"

 

Duncan nodded. "Yes, but she needs to be able to fight around it. If it

gives her such a headache that she can't concentrate, she'll lose her

head."

 

Taliesyn broke in. "Which would take care of the headache. Look, guys,

this is good to know for us, right? But unless I advertise it, no one I

fight is going to know how to do it. I don't plan on fighting either of

you, not for real at least, so we can practice this, but I'm not going

to worry about it. Okay? I mean, to be honest, I'm glad. This is good.

I bet Conner can do it to. He already beats me by making me laugh

during a fight, now he'll have more ammo."

 

"You want to lose your head?" Duncan asked.

 

"No, I don't want to lose my head." She sighed. "I just like the idea

that I might be able to lose the telepathy. It may help me win a fight,

but you saw how that worked. It's like a trance. I can't control it.

I'd rather lose my head than accidentally take yours or Conner's or

Richie's because I was so locked in the trance that I didn't pull

back."

 

"Okay, Okay." Richie said, taking her water and grabbing a drink. "So

we chill on this for now. We'll just work on it but not get obsessed

with it, right?"

 

Duncan agreed. "But we still run every morning and we're still working

out everyday. Got it?"

 

Richie threw a towel at him.

 

Taliesyn stood up. "I've got to find a job, so I'll see ya'll later."

 

Duncan thought fast. "Work here."

 

Richie looked up, sensing he was about to be unemployed.

 

Taliesyn just stared at Duncan like he was nuts. "Are you nuts? Doing

what? Richie already works here."

 

Duncan shrugged. "So? I just would rather you weren't working somewhere

else. Just until Kramer makes his move. Since he sent his students

after you so soon, he'll probably try something else."

 

Taliesyn was realizing that this whole 'caring about you' thing was

more involved than she thought. "Okay, so I'll not look for a job until

the thing with Kramer is finished. I'll live off Conner's money.

Happy?"

 

"You agreed to that pretty fast. Why?" Duncan was worried she would try

to find a job anyway.

 

"Because I'm learning." She said.

 

"Learning?"

 

"Yeah, Duncan. Learning that you are almost as stubborn as Conner and

that it's best to just give in gracefully than waste time arguing with

you." She grinned at Richie triumphantly.

 

"She's got you there, Mac."

 

"I don't think I'm as stubborn as Conner." Was Duncan's only reply.

 

*****************************************

 

A routine developed from that morning. Every morning Taliesyn went with

Richie to the dojo and worked out with Mac before the dojo opened.

Taliesyn even began to look forward to running. As the days turned into

weeks, both Mac and Richie were able to deflect her telepathy. At first

she suffered extremely painful headaches from the flashes of light and

confusion, but she began to notice that when she sparred with them, her

telepathy started to just turn off. She mentioned this to them. Richie

thought it might be because she was enjoying the sparring, like she did

with Conner, so her telepathy cut off. Duncan thought it could also be

a defense mechanism.

 

"What do you mean, what kind of defense mechanism? I thought the

telepathy itself was a defense mechanism." Taliesyn was trying to grasp

all the changes that had occurred.

 

"Well," Duncan began, "I think that since the flashes cause you so much

pain, and confuse you too much to concentrate, that the part of your

brain that is involved in the telepathy turns off. There have been

experiments where rats were given an electric shock when they tried to

go for a specific kind of bait, or food. Eventually, the rats stopped

going to that bait, even though their first instinct was to try for the

food. It's conditioning."

 

She laughed. "Gee, thanks, Duncan. I know I'm short and all, but I

think the comparison to a rat is a little fucking harsh."

 

He through his sweaty towel at her, "I'm not saying you are a rat, and

you know it! I'm simply theorizing that you're being conditioned not to

use the telepathy when you spar because it causes pain."

 

Richie cut in with, "Though, now that you mention it, you are pretty

small, Tal."

 

Her only comment was to cross her eyes at them. Both Richie and Duncan

had taken to gentle teasing with her. She even teased them back now and

again.

 

The early morning karate class started arriving, so Duncan and Richie

got up to leave the office and go to work. Taliesyn's habit over the

past three weeks had been to sit in the office and surf the Internet,

but she was getting pretty bored, and tired of feeling helpless. She

stood up, too.

 

"Listen guys." She halted their exit, "I'm thinking that I'll go over

to Joe's in a while. Maybe ask him if he's heard anything about

Kramer."

 

Duncan frowned. "If he had, he'd have said something already. Why don't

you call him?"

 

"Yeah." Richie added, "And we can go over their after the dojo closes

tonight."

 

The men headed out of the office, only to be stopped by Taliesyn's

heavy sigh.

 

"Look. I really appreciate everything you're doing. I know that you

don't want me to be out of your sight or anything...but, I'm going stir

crazy here! I can't just sit around fucking with the computer, okay? I

need to do something."

 

They started to object, so she just kept talking, "I'm going to go over

to Joe's. I won't go anywhere else. I'll just hang there for a while,

then when you're done here, you can meet me there. I just need a change

of scenery, guys. I'm not used to being in one place like this. I need

to do something."

 

Duncan looked at Richie.

Richie looked at Duncan.

They sighed in stereo.

 

"Okay."

 

"Alright."

 

She smiled. "Thanks."

 

Richie still had an Ace to play, though, "On one condition."

 

She narrowed her silver eyes at him. "What?"

 

He grinned. "I drive you over there. We took your car this morning

anyway."

 

She rolled her eyes at him. "Okay, deal. Go teach your classes, I'll

read some more Star Trek fanfiction, then we'll go before lunch. Joe

will be open by then."

 

As they headed into the main part of the dojo, Duncan whispered to

Richie, "Very impressive."

 

He whispered back, "Thank you, thank you very much."

 

*****************************************

 

Joe was just coming out of his office when Taliesyn walked in.

 

"Hi, Joe!"

 

"Hey, Tal! Where's your entourage?" He asked, not seeing Richie or Mac

with her.

 

"I ditched them. Made my escape!" She sat on a barstool.

 

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

 

"Not you, too! Damnit! I'm not a baby, you know! It's not like I can't

take care of myself!" She was really fucking tired of this macho bull!

 

Joe raised a hand in mock self-defense. "Whoa! Don't hurt me! I'm just

an old guy, I'm innocent."

 

She laughed and settled down a bit. "Sorry, Joe. I'm just...I'm

just..."

 

He smiled at her. "Just tired of all the macho bullshit?"

 

Her eyes widened. "Now who's the mind-reader?"

 

"Not me! I'm just a bartender...you do that long enough, you get to

read people's faces pretty well."

 

"Being a Watcher probably doesn't hurt either, huh?" She asked.

 

"Comes in handy, that's for sure. So, you got tired of the dojo,

thought you'd come here?" He poured two cups of coffee, passing one to

her.

 

She accepted it gratefully. "Yeah. Thought I'd see how long it took to

get bored around here."

 

"I'm not sure how to take that, but you're more than welcome to hang

around here as long as you like." Joe was amazed at the changes in

Taliesyn since that night three weeks ago, when Mac introduced them.

She was still wary, but it wasn't as obvious. He knew she was

dangerous, but he also knew that Richie had been right, that most

Immortals were dangerous in one way or another...if they weren't, they

didn't last very long. She really was just another person with

troubles, bad troubles, but he'd had his share and after seeing how

much she'd loosened up, he was just glad that he'd got the chance to

meet her.

 

"Thanks, Joe." Taliesyn smiled at him and turned to walk around the

bar, drinking her coffee.

 

Mike, the bartender, came in a started taking the chairs off the

tables, getting the bar ready for the lunch crowd. Taliesyn, seeing

nothing better to do, finished her coffee and helped him. After setting

up the chairs and tables, he quietly accepted her help with the other

opening chores. Joe worked on paperwork, watching her with a smile.

When the day waitress called in sick and Taliesyn offered to fill-in,

Joe let her. He figured why the hell not, she was there, obviously

itching for something to do...and she was damn good at it he soon found

out.

 

At 6:30, when Mac and Richie came in, after closing the dojo, they

found Taliesyn walking around with a tray of drinks, wearing an apron.

They looked at Joe, who just shrugged and went back to pouring drinks.

 

The next day, Richie dropped Taliesyn off at the bar just before

opening, and Joe handed her an apron and a cup of coffee.

 

She took the coffee and eyed the apron. "You trying to tell me

something here, Joe?"

 

He grinned at her, "Yep. Jill called in sick again. She's got some kind

of flu-thing and doesn't think she'll be in for the rest of the week.

Want a job?"

 

Taliesyn looked suspicious at first. "This your way of taking pity on

me?"

 

He sighed and shook his grey head, "No! I just figured since you're

here, you might want to keep busy. You don't have to, I just thought

you might want to since you did yesterday. It's not pity."

 

She dropped her eyes, feeling ashamed. "I'm sorry, Joe. I'm just not

used to all this...umm...camaraderie', you know?"

 

He nodded. "I think it's called friendship. I'm just trying to be your

friend."

 

"Yeah. I haven't ever really had a lot of experience with that kind of

thing."

 

"Well, now's your chance. You seem to be doing okay with Mac and

Richie. And Conner is definitely your friend, wouldn't you say?" He

asked.

 

She smiled, thinking about Conner. "I guess so. Mac and Richie are

great."

 

"Takes some getting used to, huh?" He went and sat at a table.

 

She followed him. "What do you mean?"

 

"I've read your file. I know that probably pisses you off, but I read

it before I met you, before Mac introduced you. I know that you didn't

really make any close friends, at least none that were close enough to

make it into your file."

 

She cupped her coffee-cup in her hands, leaning forward. "I'm not

pissed, Joe. I might have been before, but not now. I know you care

about Duncan and Richie. You probably saw me go into the dojo and

thought someone was going to die."

 

He half-smiled at how right she was. "I wasn't really concerned until I

found out who you were. Your file has a lot of information in it; makes

you look dangerous. But now that I know you some, I don't think it's at

all complete. Don't get me wrong, I know you're good with your sword

and all that, but I just mean that files can't really show much about

what kind of a person someone is, only their actions. The motivations

are all inferred."

 

"Well, you're right. I never made any friends. I'm sure your Watcher

files know all about how I grew up and how I died, right?"

 

He nodded, his eyes showing how he felt about the information.

 

Her own eyes stung with emotion. "Don't, Joe. Don't feel like that. It

happened. I've done some things since then that were almost as bad as

what was done to me. It's past. It has to be, right? You know, I just

feel kinda free here, now. With Conner, I felt safe...confused, but

safer than I'd ever felt. Here, I feel free. Even knowing Kramer's out

there."

 

He reached out and took her hand, meeting her silver eyes with his blue

ones, "Maybe having friends ain't so bad, hmm?"

 

She gave his hand a squeeze, "Yeah. Just give me some time to get used

to it all, okay?"

 

He laughed, "Sweetheart, you're Immortal! If there's one thing you've

got, it's time!"

 

She laughed with him, realizing that for the first time, having all

that time didn't seem so bad.

 

She stood up and tied on the apron, "Okay, boss! One fill-in laborer

reporting to duty."

 

They got to work.

 

***************************************

 

The rest of the week passed easily. Work-out in the morning with

Duncan and Richie, working at Joe's till evening, then

dinner...sometimes with Duncan, Richie, and Joe or just Duncan and

Richie.

Some nights it was just Taliesyn and Richie ordering pizza and talking

all night in one of their apartments. At first it had seemed to Mac and

Joe that there may be romance in the air between Tal and Richie, but as

the weeks went by, the relationship became closer, more like siblings

than anything else.

For Taliesyn, this was better than a sexual relationship...she didn't

trust anything about sex, and after realizing that Richie wasn't

looking for that kind of thing from her, she just let it go and enjoyed

having someone her age to hang out with. Richie, though he did think

she was beautiful, found himself unable to think of her as a potential

girlfriend. Aside from Tessa, he'd never had a close female friend. He

and Taliesyn had so much in common, more than just their Immortality,

and he could talk to her about things he'd never spoken aloud to anyone

before. Some nights, they would talk about the things that had happened

to them in various foster homes or on the streets, and Taliesyn would

let him hold her while she cried, then she'd hold him while he cried.

No one had ever done that, just let him babble on about all the shit

from his life before MacLeod. They understood each other. They were

kin. He felt like he would do anything for her, that he would die for

her.

 

Five and a half weeks after they met, he killed for her.

 

They were on their way home from a late movie, arguing good naturedly.

 

"I'm telling you, it was better before they added all the new shit!"

She tossed at him.

 

He laughed, "It's not like they changed anything really. They just

*enhanced* it some."

 

She punched him in the arm, "It was a classic! A classic doesn't need

enhancements! They should have just left it alone."

 

"You have to admit, that full shot of the X-Wing was cool, though."

 

She conceded that. "Okay, okay! The X-Wing looked cool. But! It's still

not *better* than the original."

 

"No, no, of course not! It's just *enhanc---" He stopped mid-sentence,

meeting her eyes to make sure she was feeling the presence of another

Immortal, too. "You feel that?"

 

She nodded, putting her hand inside her coat, fingering her katana,

"Uh-huh, we've got company."

 

He reached for his own blade. "Fuck! I hope that's Mac. I'm not in the

mood for this."

 

It wasn't Mac.

As they rounded the back of their building, they saw two figures.

Neither of the men were MacLeod, and they both had their swords already

out.

 

Richie brandished his own sword, holding it comfortably, "Well,

gentlemen. Can we help you with something? Looking for directions?"

 

One of the two stepped forward, "We've found what we're looking for,

kid. Why don't you go play somewhere else. This doesn't concern you."

 

The speaker was about Richie's height, with brown hair and eyes, he

moved toward Taliesyn, attacking her with his rapier just as his

companion, a very tall blond man came at Richie with a huge claymore.

Richie didn't have time to do more than glance at Taliesyn as she

engaged the brunette. The claymore screeched off his blade as he

brought his sword up automatically, deflecting a blow that would have

cleaved his head.

Taliesyn saw out of the corner of her eye that Richie was holding his

own, but she was having trouble concentrating on Richie's fight because

the visions from her own opponent were invading her mind. She could

tell from his fighting style that he Kramer's student, also from the

way his thoughts pictured the moves, and she was amazed that she had

not put it all together before. The other four Immortals she'd fought

since leaving New York had fought pretty similarly. This one wasn't the

best, but he was pretty good.

 

<Not quite good enough> She thought as she slashed the backs of his

knees to the bone and he went down, his scream cut off when she removed

his head. She heard Richie cry out, but couldn't be sure if it was in

pain or victory as the brunette's Quickening rose from his decapitated

body, the blue-white light engulfing her in that strange cocktail of

pleasure and pain.

 

As the Quickening faded, she saw more light behind her eyes and looked

over, worried that it was Richie's...she knew that if the blond had

taken Richie's head, she wouldn't even give the bastard time to recover

before she relieved him of the burden of his head. The relief at

seeing Richie on his knees absorbing the blonde's Quickening brought

tears to her eyes. Richie had several deep, mortal wounds and blood

covered the front of his ripped T-shirt, but the man who had so quickly

become a brother was alive. He'd won his fight and was taking the

spoils of it. Richie met her eyes as he recovered from the

ecstasy-agony of the Quickening, relief evident in his gaze.

Just as they were climbing to their feet, they felt the approach of yet

another Immortal.

 

Richie, still catching his breath, moaned, "Damnit, not again!"

 

Jonathan Kramer stepped from the shadows and smiled, taking in the

scene. "Not to worry, boy, you're done for the evening."

 

Richie glared at him, "Fuck you!" He started forward, only to stagger

and fall, looking at the three fresh bullet holes in his chest...he was

dead by the time he hit the ground.

 

The shots broke Taliesyn out of her shock at seeing Kramer after so

long. She screamed at him, rushing at him with her katana raised, but

he just smiled as he pulled the trigger two more times...the last thing

she saw as her life faded away was Kramer picking up her sword.

 

******************************************

 

Richie didn't know which was worse, dying, or waking up after being

dead. He gasped in pain as cold blood started pumping again and stale

air rushed through his lungs. Still recovering, he lurched to his feet,

one thought on his mind and on his lips..."Taliesyn!"

 

"Easy, Rich." A deep, accented voice soothed.

 

Richie turned, stumbling into Duncan, who was trying to catch him

before he fell. Duncan got him to sit back on the bed. Richie looked

around, realizing that he was in the loft over the dojo. He saw Joe

Dawson near the kitchen area talking on a cell phone. He didn't see

Tal.

 

"Where is she? She's not...oh, no, please..." He almost sobbed.

 

Duncan shook his head. "We don't know where she is. Neither her or her

sword were there when we got there. I looked around. It's hard to track

on concrete and gravel, but it looked like she might have been carried.

There were also some tire marks, fresh ones...someone left there in a

hurry."

 

"Damn it all to *HELL*! Mac! This is all my fault! I should have

watched out for her. I was supposed to be taking care of her! What do I

do? I let her get fucking kidnapped! What if he kills her?!" Richie

stomped around, furious with himself.

 

"Stop it, Richie! This is not your fault! You were looking out for her.

Hell! You'd just taken a Quickening, it's not like you could have done

anything more than what you did. Don't beat yourself up over this! It

won't help us find her." Duncan walked over, putting his hands on

Richie's stiff shoulders.

 

Richie tensed at the contact, then relaxed, letting Duncan's calm

strength invade him for a moment. He moved away, turning to look his

teacher, his friend, in the eye; he saw the same worry that he knew

must be mirrored in his own eyes.

 

"Okay, thanks. Keep looking, call me as soon as you find anything." Joe

finished his call, slipping the cell phone into his jacket pocket.

"Okay. We're doing a trace on any possible properties owned or leased

by Kramer. We're also waiting to hear from Kramer's Watcher...he hasn't

checked in since last week when Kramer was in California."

 

Duncan moved to sit on the couch. "What about Taliesyn's Watcher. He

must have been there, right? Did he follow them?"

 

Joe eased himself into a chair across from Mac. "Her, and we can't seem

to locate her at the moment. Richie's Watcher was too busy calling in

to see exactly what happened after Kramer shot Tal."

 

Richie stood by the couch, too tense to sit. "Why didn't my Watcher

follow them?"

 

"That's not his job, Richie." Joe told him, sadly. "Besides, with two

headless bodies, and another body about to wake up, your Watcher was a

little busy. It's never a good idea to take a Quickening in your

backyard."

 

"Well, excuse the fuck out of me! I'll rent a warehouse next time,

maybe sell tickets!"

 

Duncan put his hands in the air, calling for silence. "That's

enough...both of you. Joe, we appreciate you and the Watcher's taking

care of the mess at the apartment building. Richie, we know you had no

choice. You and Tal were challenged, you had to fight. That's the way

it works. Joe knows that, I know that."

 

Richie ducked his head, sheepish. "Sorry, Joe. I'm just worried about

Taliesyn."

 

Joe readily accepted the apology, "I understand, Rich. Sorry, man, for

coming down on you so hard. We're all worried about Taliesyn, and I've

got two Watchers unaccounted for as well."

 

Duncan leaned forward, hands on his Jean-clad thighs, "Alright. We know

Kramer took her. We're pretty sure he's not going to kill her, at least

not right away...remember, he thinks she can teach him how to do what

she does. So, we need to find him. Joe, did her Watcher have a car? Is

it still at the apartment building?"

 

Joe smacked his forehead, "Hell! I didn't think of that!" He grabbed

his phone from his pocket.

 

Duncan smiled at him, "We've all been a little distracted. Don't bother

calling anyone, let's just go over there and see if the car's there?

You know what kind of car it is?"

 

"Yeah." Joe nodded. "She had to get a new one when she moved here

because Taliesyn drives too fast for her Watcher's old car to keep up.

Her Watcher thinks she does it on purpose."

 

Richie laughed at that, "She does."

 

They headed down in the elevator.

 

***************************************

 

Dark. It was very dark when Taliesyn gasped back to life, gagging on

the blood in her mouth. <FUCK! I hate getting shot in the chest!> she

thought.

 

She didn't feel any other Immortals, but she knew she wasn't alone, she

could hear someone breathing and the clank of metal in the darkness.

 

"Who's there?" She whispered.

 

No answer.

 

"Cone one, damn it! I know you're there, I can hear you. Might as well

say something." She spoke at normal volume, trying to stay calm.

 

Someone sighed, it sounded like a female.

 

"I'm here." Definitely a woman's voice, with a slight Mid-Western

accent.

 

"Your name?" Tal asked.

 

"I'm not supposed to talk to you." The woman sounded scared.

 

"Did Kramer tell you not to talk to me?"

 

Silence, then, "No, it's just a rule, we're not supposed to interfere."

 

<Ah> Tal thought, then said, "Well, lady, I think being trapped in a

cold, dark prison is a situation where you can at least tell me your

name, don't ya think? Unless you'd rather me call you 'Hey You.' "

 

"Very true." The woman sighed again. "I'm Allison."

 

"I'm Taliesyn...Hey! We almost rhyme, ain't that too fucking cute? I

guess you're a Watcher, right? Are you mine?" Tal asked.

 

"Umm."

 

"Come on..." Tal encouraged.

 

Allison laughed softly, "Yes, I'm your Watcher."

 

"Well, Allison, I'd like to say I was thrilled to meet you, but since

you're here with me, that means that Duncan and Richie are not going to

be able to ask you where Kramer took me. Otherwise, it is nice to meet

you. I noticed you got a new car." She was working her cuffed hands

under her legs while she talked. She finally got her hands so that they

were in front of her, still cuffed, but it was better than having them

behind her back. She had Allison keep talking so she could hobble on

her knees over to the sound of her voice.

 

She found her when she fell over her.

 

"Ooof! Sorry." She apologized, trying to crawl off of the Watcher's

lap.

 

"That's okay. I don't suppose you've got a key stashed somewhere do

you?" Allison asked.

 

"Nope. Fresh out of hand-cuff keys today. Do you know where Kramer

went?"

 

"I'm not sure. He was talking to himself about some machine...he's

crazy!" Allison was obviously scared. Taliesyn couldn't blame her for

being frightened. How often does some fucking lunatic Immortal come and

snatch you out of your car and throw you into a dark room with another

Immortal?

 

"Okay. Well, he's not here now. I need to get these cuffs off. Have you

been able to see any of the room we're in? Were the lights off when he

put you in here? There aren't any windows, so I don't even know what

time it is. Hell! This fucking sucks!"

 

"You were dead when he brought you in. He turned the lights off when he

closed the door. The door is metal, it's about maybe, ten feet from

where we're sitting, down this same wall. How are you going to get the

cuffs off? There isn't even a cot in here. I'm not sure what this place

is. It looks like some bomb shelter or something. I'm babbling, aren't

I? Sorry." Allison's voice trailed off.

 

"Hey. It's cool. I tend to talk too much when I get nervous, too. And

about the cuffs. I need you to stand up and stomp on my hands. I need

you to break them."

 

"I can't break the cuffs by stomping on them! Their solid metal!" The

Watcher was confused.

 

Tal laughed mirthlessly, "I didn't mean for you to break the cuffs,

Allison. I mean for you to break my hands. If you can break enough

bones in my hands, then I can squeeze the cuffs off before they heal."

 

"I...I...I can't do that! Don't ask me to do that, please." Allison

didn't want any part of this plan. She'd been watching Taliesyn for

over a year now, and even though she'd never met her, she still felt a

connection to *her* Immortal.

 

Taliesyn sighed heavily, "Look, Ally. Can I call you Ally? We need to

do something. Kramer is going to come back soon. I don't know what he's

planning, but I can pretty much guarantee that we're not going to like

it. If we've got the use of our hands, then we have a better chance of

doing something."

 

"Oh god. Okay, okay. Let me stand up. At least he didn't cuff our

feet." She had to have Taliesyn's help standing up, since she was not

limber enough to maneuver her own cuffed hands from behind her back.

Just as she was getting ready to try jumping on the Immortal's hands,

she felt Taliesyn stiffen.

 

"What? What is it?" She asked.

 

Taliesyn stood up next to her, "Someone's here. I'm pretty sure it

ain't the rescue squad. Listen, Ally," she lowered her voice to a

whisper, "if you get out of here and I don't, I need you to do me a

favour. I know it breaks your rules, but I need you to tell Richie,

Duncan, and Joe thank you for me. Tell Duncan to tell Conner, okay? I

know that Richie and Duncan are out there right now looking for me, and

for you, too, since Joe probably tried to find you first. If Kramer

kills me before they get here, I need you to let them know that

I...um..that I...well, you know. Please, Ally?"

 

"Don't talk like that. The things I've heard about Duncan MacLeod,

there's no way he's not going to find us, you just have to keep Kramer

from killing you...make him talk to you, that always works in the

movies." She felt giddy with fear. Her Immortal assignment had always

seemed so tough, almost cold-hearted from the distance of Watching, and

here she was worried that her friends wouldn't know that she loved them

if she died.

 

Taliesyn pleaded. "Please, promise me you'll tell them."

 

"I promise. But we're getting out of here. It's always better to tell

people you love them in person, so when we get out of here, you can

tell them yourself." Ally reassured.

 

"I never said I loved anybody." Taliesyn admonished.

 

Ally laughed. "Didn't you?"

 

Taliesyn was saved from having to answer by the lights coming on,

blinding them both. She heard the gunshot and felt the pain in her

chest before she could even get adjusted to the sudden brightness. She

heard Allison scream, then nothing but blackness.

 

****************************************

 

Richie, Duncan, and Joe found Allison's black Grand Am across the

street from the apartment building. Looking through the driver side

window, Duncan didn't see anything.

 

"Damn. It looks like she left it on her own." Duncan turned to the

other two men.

 

"If she went to watch the fight, she may have left her mini

tape-recorder in the car." Joe said.

 

Richie raised an eyebrow, "Why would she leave it. Wouldn't she want to

give a play-by-play of the fight?"

 

Joe frowned at the expression, "We've discovered that Quickenings wreck

havoc on electronic equipment, so all field agents are advised not to

take them too close to where a Quickening may take place."

 

Duncan smirked, "We've discovered that Quickenings wreck havoc on

Immortal equipment, too , Joe."

 

"Yeah, no shit!" This from Richie, who was getting frustrated and more

worried by the minute.

 

Duncan put a hand on his student's arm, "Cool it, Rich. Why don't you

do something useful...like break into this nice car so we can search it

for the recorder."

 

"Sure, Mac. Never thought any of my skills from the old neighborhood

would come in handy, but, hell, you never know, huh?" He had the

driver's side door open in under a minute...making Duncan wonder when

was the last time Richie'd done this, since he didn't seem to be rusty

at all.

 

They found the recorder in the glove compartment and proceeded to play

back the tape:

"Marks and Ryan just returned from seeing Star Wars, they seem to be

arguing in a friendly nature. I am still not sure if they have

developed a sexual relationship, but they do see to be very close."

There was a pause, where the recorder was turned off. Duncan looked at

Richie, who shook his head and rolled his eyes.

 

"Geez, Mac. No, I'm not sleeping with Taliesyn...she's practically my

sister, for god's sake!"

 

Duncan smiled, "I didn't say a word."

 

Richie rolled his blue eyes again, "You didn't have to. Play the rest."

 

Duncan turned the tape back on:

"Marks and Ryan have stopped, they are not entering the building, and

they seem to be looking around. Ryan has his sword out, Marks is

reaching for hers. They've gone around the back of the building, I'm

going to follow...Wait, a car has pulled up, the driver looks like

Jonathan Kramer. It is! Kramer just pulled up in a silver Mercedes

sedan, license plate 2W896TS. He seems to be waiting for something. I'm

going to see what is happening with Marks and Ryan."

 

The tape ended there.

 

Joe shook his head. "She would have come back to the car if she could

have when Kramer took Taliesyn. Kramer must have seen her...she's only

been doing field work for a few years, he probably saw her. Her body

wasn't here, so he must have taken her, too. Damn, I just hope he

didn't hurt her!"

 

Duncan indicated the tape, "Can you access information with the license

plate of Kramer's car? Maybe we can find him that way."

 

Joe took the player, "Hell, yes! Let's go to the bar, I can get on-line

with the Watcher database from there."

 

They went to get back in Duncan's T-Bird, but Richie and Duncan froze

before getting in, both looking around.

 

Joe thought, <Shit! What now?>

 

A tall man, wearing a tan Trenchcoat, jeans, and white tennis shoes

crossed the street, coming toward them. Joe sighed...he'd know that

fashion combination anywhere!

 

Duncan rushed to greet his kinsman, "Conner!"

 

Conner crushed Duncan in a quick hug, "Cousin! Where's my gift?"

 

Richie had a feeling he was about to see Conner MacLeod of the Clan

MacLeod really pissed.

 

Duncan lowered his voice, "Conner, she's been kidnapped-"

 

Conner pulled back, eyes dark, "What?"

 

Duncan started moving to the car, "Get in, we're going to look for her

now. We'll explain on the way."

 

Conner did not look happy, but allowed himself to be led to the T-Bird.

He looked even less happy by the time they got to the bar. Conner had

been especially ticked after hearing the tape where Allison speculated

on Richie and Taliesyn's relationship...Richie was quick to correct the

assumption, seeing that Conner thought of Tal as his daughter. Duncan

realized how much Taliesyn meant to his kinsman, Conner was almost

shaking with suppressed emotion.

 

<Pity Kramer if he made the mistake of killing Conner's young student>,

Duncan thought, then he looked at Richie...<Like I'd be any different

if it were Richie who was missing>.

 

As soon as they got to Joe's bar, Joe got on-line, inputting the info

Allison had recorded from Kramer's car.

They got lucky, Kramer had registered the car under the name Alex Marks

in California. It took about an hour, but they found that an Alex Marks

had also just leased some property near the cliffs, by the Sound in the

North part of Seacouver.

*****************************************

 

The first thing Taliesyn noticed when she revived this time, was that

she was naked. She also was no longer cuffed, though she was strapped

down to a cold metal table. She couldn't see anything, but quickly

realized that the blindness was caused by the thick material tied over

her eyes.

She could feel the presence of an Immortal, perhaps more than one, and

refused to let her mind dwell on how she ended up with no clothes or on

what might have taken place while she was dead.

 

Someone slapped her face.

 

"Good Morning, dear! Time to wake up!"

 

"Kramer." She tried to keep her voice steady.

 

She felt his breath on her face as he leaned over her, "Did you miss

me?"

 

Not trusting her voice not to betray her fear, she decided not to

answer. She was unable to keep from flinching when she felt his hands

on her body. He was wearing leather gloves...he always wore leather

gloves, because he'd read in some article that leather gloves were a

shield against psychic abilities. Taliesyn had always told him that it

was true...it wasn't, but she figured she'd rather have the gloves than

his bare hands. With the gloves, she could almost pretend that it

wasn't a person squeezing her breasts painfully or pushing and prodding

other areas. Sometimes she could just take her mind away somewhere

else...but not now. Now she needed to stay aware, to stay alive.

 

<Think! Damn it! You have to get out of this! Think!> She tried to

think of something, *anything* to stop Kramer.

 

"Jonathan?" She made her voice as soft as she could, ignoring the anger

and the fear.

 

The hands stopped their exploration, resting on her bare thighs just

above the knees. "Yes, darling? I've missed you so much Taliesyn. You

don't know how long I've been trying to get you back. Why did you leave

me? You were going to show me how to do your trick, remember? Why

didn't you stay and show me? You were supposed to stay with me,

Taliesyn."

 

He almost sounded like he was crying, but there was a maniacal edge to

his voice that brought chill bumps to Taliesyn's flesh.

 

"Jonathan. Could you take the blindfold off, please? It's not like I

don't know what you look like."

 

He moved, the material pressed into her eyelids for a moment, then slid

away. She blinked several times, letting her eyes adjust to the harsh

lights. Turning her head she took in as much of the room as she could

from her prone position. The room looked like Allison's description of

their prison, but it seemed bigger, and the Watcher was no where to be

seen. <Not good> Tal thought.

 

"Where's Allison? Jonathan?" She asked him, still not looking at him.

 

"Who?"

 

"The woman. The other woman you kidnapped. Where is she?" She could

hear the panic creeping into her voice.

 

"Oh. Her. She's gone." He sounded so calm.

 

"Gone? What do you mean 'gone'?"

 

"Just gone." He said this like he was talking to a slow-witted child.

 

Taliesyn lost her temper, fear making her voice almost shrill, "Damn

it! Kramer! Where the *FUCK* is she? What did you do with her? I swear,

you crazy, son-of-a-bitch, if you hurt her...you mother---!"

 

His back-handed slap cut off her tirade. He leaned in close to her

face, so she had no choice but to look at him. He hadn't changed, which

was normal for an Immortal, but his dirt-brown eyes seemed almost black

against the sweaty pallor of his face. He'd also shaved his head

completely bald, which Taliesyn thought was not exactly an improvement.

He wasn't ugly really, just unappealing, but his actions and his crazy

eyes made him ugly.

He grabbed her face. She clamped her lips shut against his tongue, but

he just licked her face instead, murmuring how much he missed her.

Someone else spoke up before he could do anything more to her.

 

"Mr. Kramer? Everything is ready now." Taliesyn looked and saw a

young-looking black man standing by the door. This was one of the other

Immortals she'd felt. There was another, she thought, but the feeling

did not feel quite right, it seemed too faint to be normal...but she

didn't have time to explore the sensation, because Kramer started

unstrapping her from the table. She went to hit him when her arm was

free, but he stopped her.

 

"Don't! You try anything, and your friend you were so worried about

will get to find out what beheading feels like." His tone showed how

serious he was, so Taliesyn let him finish releasing the straps.

He handed her the leggings and tunic she'd worn to the movies with

Richie, <god! How long ago was that?>, and told her to get dressed. She

noticed her bra and panties were missing from the pile of clothing, but

she knew better than to ask about them.

Once she was dressed, though still barefoot, Kramer pulled her out the

door into another room. This room was the same as the other, but a

little bigger. It had no furniture, unless you counted the heavy steel

machine in the center of the room. Looking at the metal contraption,

Taliesyn felt her heart drop to her stomach. She'd only seen one in

books or movies, and those had always been made of wood, but the

construction was the same.

 

A guillotine.

 

***********************************

 

Taliesyn froze, watching the florescent lights gleam off the blade of

the guillotine. <He's gone completely insane!> she thought, and for the

first time began to really question her chances of getting out of this

alive.

 

Kramer spoke to her from behind, his voice filled with awe, "Isn't it

beautiful? I had it made especially to deal with Quickenings."

 

"Wh...why?"

 

He pushed her to stand about five feet from the monstrosity, "Because

wood can catch fire and isn't nearly as durable as steel. Plus, the

metal can carry a current. Just you wait! You're going to *love* this!"

 

Taliesyn gaped at Kramer. "Why not just fight me and take my head, or

you could have taken my head after you shot me! What's with all the

fucking theatrics?"

 

"Oh, darling! That's not for you. This is for you."

He snapped his fingers, and another man, a mortal, came into the room,

pushing a metal chair on rollers. He positioned the chair right in

front of the guillotine.

 

Kramer started moving her toward the chair, but she decided she'd had

just about enough and wheeled on him, slamming her knee into his groin.

She would have caused more damage, but the other Immortal and the

mortal pulled her off of Kramer.

 

Kramer grabbed her face, bruising her skin, "Remember your friend! You

cause me any more problems, and she dies! I've worked too hard and too

long for this to let you ruin it! Understand?"

 

She said nothing, just glared at him in pure hatred. She let them put

her in the chair, which was equipped with metal braces to secure the

arms and legs as well as around the chest.

 

"Okay. Now, I've not actually tried this out, yet, so I hope you'll be

patient while we experiment a little." He smiled at her, sounding, for

all the world like this was a normal thing...like he expected her to be

excited.

 

Kramer turned from her, talking to the mortal too quietly for her to

make out the words. She wondered what the man thought of all this. Did

he know about Immortals? He looked like a soldier, like a mercenary.

She'd never actually met a mercenary, but she'd made a skin flick once

where one of the 'actors' played a mercenary...this guy looked like

what the character was supposed to be...only worse. The man was as tall

as Conner, only where Conner was lean, this bastard was all muscle. His

arms bulged under his black T-shirt, and the shoulder holster stretched

tight over his back. He carried several guns, and seemed comfortable

wearing them. <Great!> she thought, <he's got frigging Rambo helping

him out!>.

 

Rambo left the room. Kramer went to a small metal table, <where did

that come from?>, and started hooking wires to the guillotine. He then

attached the wires to electrode pads and walked back to Taliesyn.

 

As he stuck the pads to her face, neck, and chest, he didn't say a

word, but he hummed to himself...Taliesyn didn't recognize the song.

 

Taliesyn felt a buzzing sensation in the back of her skull, similar to

the feel of another Immortal, but it was wrong somehow...too weak. She

heard whimpering, but strapped to the chair, she couldn't turn to the

direction of the sound. Rambo came into her field of vision, carrying

something...<OH, God! No! Please, NO!>...it was a child, maybe ten

years old.

Taliesyn realized that the not quite right feeling was from the

child...a pre-Immortal. Rambo brought the child to Kramer, half

carrying her...the child seemed to be drugged, eyes rolling back in her

head.

 

Kramer clapped his hands gleefully, "Look, darling! See, she looks just

like you! Her eyes are almost as beautiful as yours! And that hair!

See! You take her Quickening, and it will be like doubling your gift,

right? It's perfect!"

 

"Kramer! You are out of your fucking mind! You can't kill a child!

She's not Immortal! Please! Listen to me!" Taliesyn heard the hysteria

in her voice, felt bile rising in her throat, but swallowed it.

 

Kramer smoothed the pale blonde hair away from the child's face. She

shied away from him, but Rambo held her still.

 

"See, darling, I know why you're not getting strong enough yet. See,

you have to fight first, so you're tired and can't take everything you

need from the Quickenings. So...I'm going to solve your problem. No,

she's not Immortal yet, but she will be. You take her Quickening. You

don't have to fight. You can just relax and take it, absorb everything!

You'll see!"

 

Rambo held the child while Kramer gave her an injection. Whatever it

was, it worked fast, because she slumped and would have fallen, but

Rambo held her. Taliesyn got a brief feeling of fear from the child,

then nothing.

Rambo carried the now dead girl to the guillotine and positioned the

body so the head was resting under the path of the blade. The girl

gasped back to life, her Immortal song adding to the feeling of Kramer

and the young black man.

 

Kramer gave the child another injection, this one didn't kill her, just

knocked her out. He turned to Taliesyn, smiling, "See. I'm not cruel.

She won't feel anything. She's for you Taliesyn. I'm going to get out

of range...don't want the Quickening to be misguided, do we?"

 

Taliesyn felt tears on her face, "No, please, don't do this, Jonathan!

Please! Take my head, maybe then you'll be able to do it, right?

Please, don't kill her. She's just a child! Please!"

 

She knew she was begging, but didn't care. Kramer obviously didn't

care, either. "I don't want to take your head, darling. That's only a

worst case scenario, don't worry." He turned to the other Immortal,

"Come, Kenneth, we need to get out of range. Drake, I'll call on the

cell to let you know when to proceed."

 

She screamed for Kramer to stop, but he and Kenneth left, soon she felt

their buzz fade. She looked at the mortal, Rambo, Drake. "Look. You

don't have to do this. Why are you doing this? Do you know what you're

dealing with?"

 

He smiled, "Kid, I don't really care. The guy's crazy, but he pays

well. I'm just doing a job."

 

"Your jobs always include cutting the heads off innocent children?"

 

"I've had all kinds of jobs. Don't fucking matter to me." He shrugged,

muscles rippling.

 

"You mother-fucker! Don't do this. You do this, I fucking swear, I'll

kill you! You have no *idea* what you're dealing with here!" She was

spitting in her fury, but paused when Drake's cell phone rang.

 

She saw him speak briefly into the phone, then he reached for the lever

on the side of the guillotine, "NO! DON'T! YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!!"

 

He shrugged again and pulled.

Tal watched in horror as the blade came down, the razor edge severing

the child's small head with barely a sound...very little blood came,

just enough to stain the blade and run into the blonde hair as the

little head rolled toward Taliesyn's feet. She couldn't breath, she

couldn't blink, she couldn't feel anything. Then the Quickening began.

It was weak, coming from a child who was only Immortal for a matter of

minutes, but it was strong enough to hurt. The electrodes seemed to

make the energy center in her head, like bullets to a target. It burned

until the wires snapped with the force of the current, then the energy

enveloped her...her head jerked back, cracking against the metal chair,

and the braces around her arms, chest, and feet snapped open. Still

trying to absorb the tiny Quickening, Taliesyn threw herself out of

the chair.

 

Rambo had obviously not been told what to expect, or if he had, he

probably didn't believe it, since he was on his ass against the wall,

where the force of the Quickening had thrown him. His eyes were open in

shock, and he didn't seem to notice that Taliesyn was free until she

was standing over him, panting and shaking. He seemed to realize that

his prisoner was no longer chained up just as she slammed her heel into

his nose with enough force to shatter it. He died on the second kick,

tiny slivers of bone from his nose shooting into his brain.

 

She was already moving when he slumped to the ground, blood pooling

from his ears. She staggered to the back wall where several closed

doors presented themselves. She knew she didn't have much time. She had

to find Allison, if she still lived, and she had to find her sword.

Behind door number two, she found both.

Allison was handcuffed to some pipes against one wall, and her sword

was on a table against the other.

 

Allison' face was bruised and her lip split, but she was alive and

awake, "What the hell just happened! The lights flickered, and it

sounded like a Quickening happened? Did you get Kramer?"

 

Taliesyn grabbed her sword, "No, not Kramer. Please don't ask. Pull

your arms as flush with the wall as you can. I'll try not to cut your

hands off."

She swung her katana hard, the blade easily cut through the metal

cuffs.

 

"You need to find a way out of here. Kramer and his other Immortal will

be back any minute. Get your ass up! Go, damn it! Find MacLeod or Joe!

Go!"

 

Allison ran out of the room, Taliesyn right behind her. Taliesyn

grabbed her arm as she felt the buzzing crawl up her spine. "Wait, try

another way! Their coming!"

 

Kramer and Kenneth walked into the room, Taliesyn heard Allison move

behind her and away, but didn't turn to look. Kramer took in the

scene...the headless child, Drake's dead body, Taliesyn with her sword.

 

"Did it work?" He asked eagerly.

 

She advanced on him, "Did what work, you sick *fuck*? Did the kid die?

YES! Now it's your turn! Fight me, you son-of-a-bitch!"

 

He back up, pushing Kenneth in front of him, "You can take her. You're

ready."

 

The young black Immortal looked at Kramer like he was nuts, "No way,

man! She wants to fight you! You said you'd take her head and teach me

how to use her powers. You didn't say shit about killing children or

rape or nothing! She killed Michael and Thomas already! Hell, she

killed that soldier you hired! Ain't no way I'm fighting her."

 

With that Kenneth ran from the room. Kramer screamed for him to stop,

but he just kept running, they heard the door slam open and felt his

buzz fade.

 

Kramer looked at her sword. "What happened to the rapier I gave you?"

He seemed almost sad.

 

"It broke." Was all she said. Se wasn't going to tell him that she

broke it two years after she left him during a fight with one of his

old students, or that she stole that student's sword after she took his

head. She sure as *HELL* wasn't going to tell him that the katana was

her most precious possession because Conner MacLeod had had it made

just for her, that the sword was balanced especially for her hands and

style. <But> she thought, <I'll be more than happy to let him see how

sharp it is...by slicing his fucking neck with it!>.

 

"It broke? That's too bad. That rapier was small and feminine, it was a

good weapon for a little girl like you." He cooed at her, talking to

her like she was his pet...which for almost two years, she had been.

 

But no longer.

 

She met his flat black eyes, "I hated the rapier. The guard cut my hand

to ribbons. It was a useless weapon in a fight. I was glad when the

blade snapped."

 

He still hadn't pulled his own weapon, "Why won't you teach me your

trick? I know you can teach it! You can't be the only one. I've heard

stories of other Immortals, ancient Immortals who can do it. I know I

can do it! You have to teach it to me! You have to!" He was almost

pleading with her.

 

"Sure I can teach it. I taught Conner MacLeod and I've taught Duncan

MacLeod and his student. I can teach it. *YOU* just can't learn it!"

She knew she was just going to make him madder and crazier, but she'd

had all of this shit she could take. She wanted him to pull his sword,

she wanted a fight, she wanted his fucking head!

 

His mad eyes glittered with hatred, "Fine, then I guess I'll learn it

when I take your head, hmm, little girl?"

 

He pulled his sword, and rushed her. He used his size and strength to

back her up against the table. She was fighting visions from his mind,

and lost her grip on her katana when he slammed the hilt of his

broadsword into her wrist. He grinned, sensing victory, but it'd been

seven years since he'd actually fought her himself, and she'd learned a

few things since then. She brought her legs up, kicked him in the face

and rolled off the table. His sword slammed into the metal next to her

face, but she was already moving. She threw herself against the work

table, it fell, scattering everything to the floor, including her

katana. She lunged to grab her sword, only to be kicked in the face,

she rolled again, his downward slice missed her face, but caught her in

the back. She sucked in a breath at the pain, but ignored it and

finally got her left hand on the black hilt of her katana.

Just as she was getting painfully to her feet, she felt the 'buzzing'

of another Immortal...several other Immortals. The bay doors in the

back of the room, were forced open, and in walked the most beautiful

thing Taliesyn thought she'd ever seen...a tall guy with a trench coat,

jeans, tennis shoes, carrying his own katana.

She noticed Duncan and Richie coming in behind him, but she was just so

happy to see Conner.

 

"Conner!" She started to walk toward him, but stopped when she got a

flash, a vision, she heeded it, and just barely ducked in time to miss

Kramer's sword slicing where here neck had been.

 

The only thing keeping Conner MacLeod from sagging to his knees in

relief or from interfering in the fight was the fact that Duncan and

Richie had a hold of both his arms and were simultaneously holding him

up and holding him back.

 

"You can't interfere." Duncan told him.

 

Conner whirled to face him, almost dislodging Richie, "I know the

fucking rules...I taught you those rules...*DON'T* tell me our rules!"

 

Duncan's voice was quiet, barely audible over the clanging of swords,

"I know you taught me, Conner. You taught her, too. Now teach her how

to do this. It was the hardest thing you ever taught me. How to stand

back and let someone I care about fight their own fight."

 

Conner stopped pulling against their hold on him, sighing, knowing that

Duncan was right.

 

Richie spoke up, his voice tight with tension, "Of course, if the

bastard kills her, he doesn't get to enjoy it. I'll take his head while

he's on his fucking knees!"

 

Neither Duncan nor Conner had a reply to that, though Conner thought to

himself, <Get in line, kid.>.

 

They watched as Taliesyn fought Kramer. She was fighting herself, too.

She wasn't able to control the telepathy, and kept getting visions,

only they weren't just of Kramer's moves, they were from Duncan and

Richie and Conner, too. One moment she'd see herself and Kramer

fighting, then she'd see what Kramer was thinking, she couldn't control

it at all. She stopped trying. She just let it go. It was like taking a

really deep breath and letting it out fast...WHOOSH! She saw Kramer

come in, slicing for her exposed neck, she pivoted, ducked under the

blade, and pivoted back around, taking his head off on the back swing.

 

It was almost anti-climatic, just swing, slice, thunk! His head bounced

against the guillotine, rolling to rest next to the head of the little

girl. She met Conner's eyes as the Quickening engulfed her, knew in

that moment what she was to him. The blue-white lightening bled into

her, and she screamed one word.

 

Her sword clattered to the concrete floor, her hands too loose to hold

it as the Quickening released her. She sagged to the ground, but

instead of hitting the floor, Conner caught her. He enveloped her in

his arms, holding her like a child, because to him, she was.

 

She looked up at him, saw the relief and pride in his eyes, "No more,

please, no more." She sobbed into his coat, letting him cradle her.

 

"No. No more tonight. I've got you." He was fighting his own tears, and

got very serious, "Did you mean it? What you said?"

 

"Yes." Her voice was so quiet, he almost didn't hear her.

 

"Good." Was all he said, smiling at her.

 

Emotional and physical overload can do funny things to a body. Taliesyn

did the most logical thing to do when faced with too much...she

fainted.

 

****************************************

 

Epilogue

 

Richie sat on the bed, watching her pack. "You're only going to be gone

a couple of months, right?"

 

Taliesyn shoved one more pair of leggings into her bag and zipped it

shut. "Yes, Richie. I'm just going to be gone a coupla' months. Would

you relax, pal? Da--uh..Conner's just going to introduce me to the man

who made my sword. I'm going to see how long it takes to learn

Japanese, maybe. Okay?"

 

"Okay, okay. Can I help it if I'm going to miss you? I like being

neighbors."

 

She laughed and sat on the bed next to him. "Well, we'll still be

neighbors when I get back. Try not to get into too much trouble while

I'm gone."

 

He fell back against the headboard, covering his face with his hands,

"I can't believe what an *idiot* I am. Fuck!"

 

"No, don't fuck! That's part of what got you into trouble in the first

place."

 

She saw that he was really upset again, and pulled his hands away from

his face, making eye contact. As always, we their eyes met, she felt

herself soften. "Listen. You and Duncan worked it out...mostly. It's

part of the Game. You can't help that Alex attacked you. You can't

change that. It's the Game, and we're all in it. It's not like Duncan

gave you a list of people he would prefer you not to kill, okay?"

 

Richie nodded, "But did I *have* to sleep with his wife?"

 

"That was pretty stupid, I have to admit. Maybe we should add it to the

Rules, huh? 'Do not have sex with the significant other of someone

whose head you have taken...it's bad manners.' Oh, Richie. Let it go!"

She patted him on the knee and stood up.

 

He sighed, "Sometimes I just get so tired of it all."

 

"What all?"

 

"The killing, the fighting, the taking heads. Hell! I haven't even

taken that many heads, and I'm already sick of it!" He stood and began

to pace. "Who made up these fucking Rules anyway? Who said we have to

fight? Why? Why the Game?"

 

"Richie! Stop! I'm not leaving if you're going to act like this. The

way you're talking, it's like you're going to just offer your head to

the next Immortal you come across! We are too young, brother, to be

this cynical! Okay? Promise me you won't give up and just die while I'm

gone!" She stood in front of him, stopping him mid-pace.

 

"You really think of me like a brother, Tal?" He asked, very serious.

 

She put her arms around his neck, "Yes! Don't you know that? Nobody

knows me like you do. Please, Richie, don't give up. Forever would be

fucking eternal without you. You've taught me so much. Please, promise

me?"

 

He hugged her back, "I promise not to give up, but I don't promise not

to wish it were different, 'kay?"

 

"Okay."

 

"I've never had a sister before, this is cool, huh?" He grinned down at

her.

 

She grinned back, "Very cool. I've never had family before, either."

 

"Maybe Immortals have to make our own families. Maybe it's better that

way, you get to pick, right?"

 

"Richie, you are very wise." She was only partly kidding.

 

He smiled cunningly, "We should make it official."

 

"What?" She was getting to know that look, and was therefore wary.

 

"The whole brother and sister thing."

 

"Don't tell me! You want to do like blood-brother shit or something?"

She didn't think he was joking.

 

He nodded, pulled his sword and sliced it across his left palm, deep.

She just gaped as the blood dripped onto the floor.

 

He huffed at her, "Damn it! Tal, you have to cut yours fast, before I

heal. Now we have to do it again!"

 

It took three tries to time it correctly, but on the third time, they

got their palms cut to the bone, and pressed them together, their blood

mingling and running crimson down their arms and pooling on the floor.

 

"Wow" Taliesyn said, when she felt not only the spark of her own hand

healing, but of Richie's healing as well.

 

Richie's blue eyes met her silver, "Did you feel that?"

 

"Yeah. Weird, huh?"

 

He just nodded and went to the bathroom, coming back with a damp towel

to clean the floor and their palms.

 

He drove her in her car to the airport to catch her plane to New York

where she would meet Conner and travel with him to the Orient. As they

were saying goodbye at the terminal, she thought to herself, <I wonder

if he knows that I really do see him as my brother, that I love him?>.

 

He looked up suddenly, eyes wide, "I love you, too, sister."

 

She felt like her eyes were going to bug out of her head! He hugged her

tight, kissed her forehead and pushed her to the terminal to board the

plane.

 

She heard and *felt* him laughing all the way to her seat.

 

 

The End.

 

 

Blessed Be!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
